Germany’s Scholz calls for unity against far-right after MEP seriously hurt

Chancellor’s appeal comes after four assailants brutally attacked a politician who was campaigning in eastern Germany.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for people to stand together against far-right activism after a politician was attacked while campaigning for the European parliamentary elections.

Matthias Ecke was seriously injured and brought to hospital for treatment after four assailants attacked him as he was putting up campaign posters in the eastern German city of Dresden late on Friday evening, police said.

The 41-year-old is a member of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and a current lawmaker in the European Parliament.

“Democracy is threatened by something like this, and that is why shrugging our shoulders is never an option,” Scholz said on Saturday during a congress for the upcoming European elections in the German capital Berlin. “We must stand together against it.”

The fact that such things happen also has something to do with the speeches that are made and the moods that are created, said Scholz, referring to the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD).