In Germany, the murder of a policeman in Mannheim last week is shaking up the election campaign – days before the EU elections.
The act is suspected of having a jihadist motive and is fueling tensions in Germany, both in the debate and on the streets.
It was during Friday that an Islamist attacked an anti-Muslim event and stabbed several people – including a policeman who later died.
The man jumped on several people, among posted posters and loudspeakers in a square in Mannheim in southwestern Germany, something TV4 Nyheterna reported on. A riot breaks out and several people are stabbed. The attacker was later shot by a police officer and stopped. He has been identified as a 25-year-old father of two from Afghanistan who came to Germany ten years ago. He is still being treated for his gunshot wound.
Expresses deep concern
The incident has shaken up the election campaign before the EU elections and fueled the debate on migration policy in the country.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expresses deep concern that the political conversation in Germany is on the verge of derailment, with a lowered bar for violence.
The original square meeting was held by the organization Pax Europa, which claims to work against an alleged Islamization of Europe. Speaker Michael Stürzenberger is believed to have been the target of the attack. The 59-year-old has profiled himself in anti-Islam and more or less right-wing circles via blogs and square appearances. He has been under the watch of the constitutional protection in Bavaria until recently.
Collided
Several of the political parties in Mannheim gathered in the square over the weekend for a non-political demonstration against hatred and violence.
But in the square, the radical right party Alternative for Germany (AFD) youth union also demonstrated under the slogan “Repatriation would have prevented this crime”. They were met by counter-demonstrators from the autonomous left, who clashed with police.
AFD leader Alice Weidel later gave an election speech in which she gave false information that Interior Minister Nancy Faeser tried to stop the spread of images from the attack for political reasons. Weidel apologized – but said the point still stands.