海角大神

Tim Wagner, a聽sitting member of German parliament, was hanging campaign posters for a liberal colleague when he was accosted on the streets of Eisenberg.

鈥淚t was a sunny Sunday, a quarter past 12. A man came up to me and said, 鈥榊ou can鈥檛 hang these posters here.鈥� I said, 鈥榊es I can.鈥� He said, 鈥榃e can fight over it,鈥欌�� says Mr. Wagner, a Free Democrat.

The man 鈥� a sympathizer of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party 鈥� blocked Mr. Wagner鈥檚 path as he tried to leave. Mr. Wagner managed to get into his car, but the man and two others surrounded the vehicle and began kicking the car door.

鈥淲e are under attack from both sides, from the right and the left,鈥� says Mr. Wagner, who鈥檚 been stalked and had strangers show up at his door. 鈥淏ut this time my 14-year-old daughter was sitting inside the car. She was shocked.鈥�

It was only the latest act of politically motivated violence, the incidence of which has been ticking upward year over year not only in Germany but across Europe. Public attention has been drawn to the issue by the attempted killing of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico last week, the highest-level assassination attempt in decades.

But attacks on politicians had been on the upswing even earlier, instigated by polarizing language used on social media, which ultimately presents a threat to democracy, say experts. The apparent lack of limits on what can now be said about a political opponent has made it easier for physical acts to emerge. The upsurge in violence, they say, may usher in new period of reflection across Europe as a whole, especially as it heads into Continent-wide parliamentary elections next month.

鈥淧olitical debates have become very personal, aggressive, full of hatred, and it鈥檚 done with impunity,鈥� says So艌a Muzik谩rov谩, a Slovakian political economist at the Florence-based European University Institute. 鈥淎nd then as people watch this and it becomes normalized, it also is mirrored in society. Logically, it鈥檚 a matter of time when and how this is going to bubble up in the physical space as well. It鈥檚 kind of a perpetual feedback loop.鈥�

Denes Erdos/AP

A child walks next to banners that read "Violence is not the way" and "No violence" in Bansk谩 Bystrica, Slovakia, May 17, 2024.

A heated situation

There have been numerous incidents of politically motivated attacks in Germany just over the last few months. Social Democrat Matthias Ecke was beaten by a group of teenagers as he was hanging posters in Dresden, and needed hospitalization. 鈥淎s you will surely understand he is not yet able to resume his activities in full capacity,鈥� wrote one of Mr. Ecke鈥檚 spokespersons, declining an interview request.

Berlin state Sen. Franziska Giffey endured head and neck injuries when she was assaulted at a routine library visit earlier in May. Last year, the son of a Bavarian mayor found a pig鈥檚 head on the family鈥檚 doorstep. The list goes on.聽In Germany in 2023, reported nearly 3,000 attacks on members of parliament and political parties, including 1,219 attacks reported against the Greens, 478聽against the far-right Alternative for Germany, 420聽against the Social Democrats, and 299聽against the Free Democrats. The tally this year is on track to top those figures easily.

Mr. Wagner blames a vitriolic environment that鈥檚 been worsened by hate spread online. 鈥淣obody had an iPhone before 2006,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f I went out to a marketplace in Germany or Thuringia and spoke to people in person, the situation wouldn鈥檛 be as heated as it is on social media.鈥�

Similarly, when Prime Minister Fico was shot, Slovakian Interior Minister Mat煤拧 艩utaj-E拧tok聽pointed fingers at journalists, fellow politicians, and members of the public. 鈥淲e are standing here slowly on the brink of civil war because hateful comments are on social media,鈥� he said in a press conference. 鈥淧lease let鈥檚 stop this immediately.鈥�

Other politicians also say they want to calm down the rhetoric. Following the attack on Mr. Fico, several Slovakian parties called for a suspension of campaigning, despite European parliamentary elections looming in early June. And in Germany, leaders of the most-attacked parties 鈥� the right and the left 鈥� have called for calm.

鈥淵ou would hope [the assassination attempt] gives rise to a little introspection around how political debates are conducted where there are threats of violence and very partisan or very deep-rooted splits on various ideological issues,鈥� says Jacob Kirkegaard, a political economist and fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

But he feels the ultimate result is likely to be a beefing up of security measures. 鈥淭here have been political assassinations or attempted assassinations in other European countries before, some of them successful, some of them not. And I think you鈥檇 be hard-pressed to say that they made a difference [in the level of rhetoric],鈥� says Dr. Kirkegaard.

Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

Franziska Giffey, Berlin's top economic official, was violently assaulted at an event in a Berlin library and had to be treated in the hospital May 7, 2024, adding to the list of the elected officials who have been exposed to brutal attacks in Germany recently.

In Slovakia, Dr. Muzik谩rov谩聽expects the vitriol will continue. 鈥淭he signals that I鈥檝e seen so far are not positive to me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚nstead of a wake-up call, this will be a development which will be weaponized to further the current administration鈥檚 agenda. [Mr. Fico鈥檚 party] has been so quick after the attack to blame the journalist community, the opposition.鈥�

Milan Ni膷, a Slovakian political scientist affiliated with the German Council on Foreign Relations, says there have been hints of unity, 鈥渂ut these signs and gestures are at the time more from individuals [rather than from the parties]. We are not out of the woods.鈥�

鈥淲e have to calm down鈥�

Threats are nothing new to Mr. Wagner, the politician whose car was surrounded as he hung posters last month.

A few years ago, three members of far-left, anti-fascist militant groups appeared on his home鈥檚 front lawn. The next year, Mr. Wagner moved his family to another home, only to have his address doxxed again.

Mr. Wagner is a former martial arts expert and judo teacher, he says, and feels he can take care of his personal safety. But his family didn鈥檛 choose public life, and his children are getting older and more aware, just as the threat to politicians has escalated.

鈥淭here have been so many conflicts: corona[virus], the war in Ukraine, immigration,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 conflict here in our land that is now coming out.鈥�

Mr. Wagner and his fellow Free Democratic party members have instituted safety rules. They only hang posters during daylight hours. If they engage with the public, they must go with three other colleagues and never alone. 鈥淲e also said to all members that they must immediately call the police if someone says harsh words,鈥� says Mr. Wagner.

Ultimately, over the long term, Mr. Wagner has hope because the younger generation 鈥� including his children 鈥� is growing up with social media. They should be better able to discern what鈥檚 true from what鈥檚 fake than older generations are. 鈥淢y hope is that the new kids learn how to discuss civilly and politely, and learn to see what鈥檚 fake news from Russia or from bots, and what鈥檚 really a real person鈥檚 writing,鈥� he says.

He also sees some signs of hope, with politicians from all parties now calling for a tamping down of the political rhetoric, which he recalls first escalating over the last decade as the far right called for 鈥淐hancellor Angela Merkel to be put in prison.鈥�

鈥淚t takes time,鈥� Mr. Wagner says, noting it鈥檚 a challenging time to calm the rhetoric because of upcoming EU parliamentary and local elections. 鈥淏ut we know we have to calm down. We must start with social media and bring the discussion to a higher level.鈥�