Violence in Germany – Are domestic politicians sufficiently protected?

This concerns Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) and Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner (ÖVP). In addition, there is ‘situational personal protection’, which if necessary ‘can be extended to all possible persons’. Threats have increased “at the latest since the pandemic,” the report said.

In connection with the recent attacks on politicians in Germany and Austria, a ministry spokesperson said the question would only be answered “very generally” because this topic is largely about internal information and people’s security.

Threats are responded to
He declined to provide information on the number of people with situational personal protection in Austria, but reports indicate it is in the low double figures.

Situational personal protection is said to be extended in the event of threats to other ministers and politicians, but also to embassy staff or representatives of international organizations. “In certain cases, a private individual can also receive situational personal protection.”

Measures are individual
The aim is “to prevent or repel concrete physical dangers and attacks against the person being protected,” according to the Ministry of the Interior. But police protection involves more than the physical presence of bodyguards. There is a wide catalog of measures that can be individually adapted and are closely linked to the protection of property.

The assessments are always made individually for specific individuals, with the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN) liaising with the respective state agencies (LSE) and the EKO Cobra.

The danger situation has increased since the pandemic
According to the Ministry of the Interior, a trend has been observed “at the latest since the pandemic” in threats against certain politically and publicly prominent people. External factors such as the climate crisis or wars also contribute to the increase in threats, “which also has an impact on our situation reports and measures.”

In recent days, several politicians, election campaigners and volunteers have been brutally attacked in Germany; some were beaten to the point of being hospitalized and seriously injured. For example, former Berlin mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) was suddenly “attacked from behind with a bag filled with hard contents and hit in the head and neck” in a library, the police said on Tuesday. The politician was slightly injured and complained about an increasing ‘fair gaming culture’ towards politically active people.

The emotional Giffey statement to read:

Just on Friday, the Saxon SPD’s leading candidate for the EU elections, Matthias Ecke, was beaten and seriously injured in Dresden by four young men aged 17 and 18 when he tried to hang up election posters. On Thursday, two AfD politicians were slightly injured in front of the state parliament in Stuttgart.

Physical injuries in Germany are increasing
The head of the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), responsible for personal protection, Holger Münch, expressed concern about the increase in attacks. “What is worrying is that the number of physical injuries is now increasing,” Münch said in Bremen on Wednesday. The authority counted 27 physical attacks on politicians last year, and 22 this year. But the number of insults aimed at political officials has also increased significantly.

According to German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), there were 2,710 crimes against elected officials in 2023, 53 percent more than the previous year. She stressed: “Attacks against AfD politicians are also unacceptable.” She spoke of an “escalation of anti-democratic violence.” The spiral of hatred and violence must be broken.

Sigi Maurer was hit by glass
Top politicians in Austria have also been victims of violent attacks in recent years. Sigi Maurer (Greens) was hit in the face with a glass in 2022 by an opponent of the Corona measures. In 2017, a 22-year-old student attacked the car of Upper Austrian Deputy Governor Manfred Haimbuchner (FPÖ).