German politician Olaf Scholz has expressed shock and outrage over the attack against Matthias Ecke, a candidate for the Bundestag in the German federal election.
Ecke was attacked on the evening of September 26, 2021, while he was campaigning in the city of Essen. He was stabbed several times and remains in critical condition in hospital.
Scholz, who is the current mayor of Hamburg and the Social Democratic Party’s (SPD) candidate for chancellor, said in a statement that he was deeply shocked by the attack.
This is a cowardly and despicable act of violence, Scholz said. It is an attack on our democracy and on the values that we hold dear.
Scholz called for a full investigation into the attack and said that those responsible should be brought to justice.
The attack on Ecke has been widely condemned by politicians across the political spectrum. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called it a heinous crime and said that it had no place in our society.
The attack has also raised concerns about the safety of politicians in Germany. In recent years, there have been a number of attacks against politicians, including the murder of Walter Lübcke, the regional president of the state of Hesse, in 2019.
The attack on Ecke has prompted calls for increased security for politicians. The SPD has said that it will provide additional security for its candidates in the run-up to the election.
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