The head of the pro-business Free Democratic Party, Christian Lindner, was assaulted by a purported left-wing activist
Christian Lindner, the leader of Germany’s Free Democratic Party, was hit with a foam cake during an election campaign event in the town of Greifswald in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Thursday. The attacker was identified by the German media as a local Left party activist.
A video of the incident that has surfaced on social media shows Lindner talking to his audience in a small hall, when a young woman approached him and threw what appears to be a small white cake into his face. The politician initially reacted to the incident in a humorous way by jokingly lamenting the fact that the “cake” was made of foam and not of cream, depriving him of an opportunity to taste it.
Addressing the incident at another event, he called it an attack “from the left,” adding that “those left-of-center do not want to hear the message of freedom, economic transition and orderly migration.” “I will not be intimidated,” the FDP chief said, asking his detractors to use real baked goods next time.
Anschlag auf Christian Lindner. Heute eine Torte, morgen das Messer? Gewalt – egal aus welcher Ecke – bedroht unsere Demokratie. Die Gegner des Liberalismus eint der Hass auf Freiheit und Verantwortung. Wir lassen uns nicht einschüchtern. Fight, FDP! pic.twitter.com/dZItJJnSc6
— Anna Neumann (@anna_p_neumann) January 9, 2025
The incident was universally condemned across the political spectrum in Germany. “Attacks on politicians are not a form of democratic behavior. These actions are inappropriate and dangerous,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on X, commenting on the developments.
Other politicians echoed similar sentiments. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) called the incident “disrespectful and undemocratic,” emphasizing that violence has no place in political debates. Friedrich Merz, leader of the biggest opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), warned about the rising trend of violence in politics and expressed hope that such incidents remain rare during the campaign ahead of the snap parliamentary election scheduled for late February.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach expressed concern about the potential escalation of violence, saying that it “starts with cakes and ends with stones or explosives.” He urged for a rejection of all forms of political violence.
The Left Party distanced itself from the actions of its activist, who was identified in media reports as Christiane Kiesow. Party secretary-general Janis Ehling said that such actions do not represent their approach to political discourse and emphasized their preference for substantive debates. He announced plans to discuss the incident with the woman “directly.”
The German police have opened a probe into the incident. The 34-year-old attacker is suspected of assault and insult, law enforcement officials told journalists. Due to the political nature of the act, the domestic security service – the BfV – is also involved, according to reports.
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