Teenager turns self in after attack on German politician

A 17-year-old turned himself in to German police Sunday after an attack on a lawmaker that the country’s leaders decried as a threat to democracy, as thousands turned out to march against political violence.

The teenager reported to police in the eastern city of Dresden early Sunday morning and said he was “the perpetrator who had knocked down the SPD politician”, police said in a statement.

Matthias Ecke, 41, a European parliament lawmaker for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), was set upon by four attackers as he put up EU election posters in Dresden on Friday night, according to police.

Ecke was “seriously injured” and required an operation after the attack, his party said.

Scholz on Saturday condemned the attack as a threat to democracy.

“We must never accept such acts of violence,” he said.

“If an attack with a political motive… is confirmed just a few weeks from the European elections, this serious act of violence would also be a serious act against democracy,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.

Later on Sunday Police wrote on X that the 17-year-old, who had no previous criminal record, had so far “not commented on the motive for the offence”.

Armin Schuster, interior minister for Saxony state, said police were still searching for the other attackers and he urged them to turn themselves in.

In response to the attack, the groups Zusammen gegen Rechts (Together against the Right) and Wir sind die Brandmauer Dresden (We are the Firewall Dresden) called for two anti-far-right protests to take place on Sunday, one in Berlin and another in Dresden. 

New survey points to rising violence in German schools

Germany’s schools are grappling with an increase in violence, as revealed by the recent Schulbarometer survey involving over 1,600 teachers, which found that one in two teachers reported that they had witnessed psychological or physical violence from pupils.

“We’re seeing a snapshot of a sick system,” Dagmar Wolf, a former educator and the head of education research at the Robert Bosch Foundation, told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).

Furthermore, geopolitical tensions, such as the Israel-Hamas conflict, are also worsening the situation, as reported by DW, which also pointed out that there are significant disparities within Germany’s education system, where the 3,000 top-tier schools don’t face the same issues faced by schools catering to students with disadvantaged and migrant backgrounds.

Immigration tops list of German voter concerns ahead of EU elections

As campaigning kicks off for the upcoming European Parliament elections slated for June, German voters are displaying an overall lack of enthusiasm, according to the latest Deutschlandtrend monthly survey by pollster Infratest-dimap.

The survey, which polled 1,280 eligible voters, indicated a big divide in voter interest, with half expressing little to no interest in the EU elections.

The survey also underscored a growing dissatisfaction with EU policies among German voters, with two-thirds expressing disappointment.

The findings showed that immigration was the central concern for 41 percent of respondents, with asylum and integration policies identified as the most pressing challenge for the EU.

Beyond immigration, international conflicts (34 percent), environmental and climate protection (21 percent), and economic issues (20 percent) rounded out the list of pressing concerns for German voters.

German far right’s TikTok success sparks rush to platform

Spooked by the far right’s success in reaching youth voters via TikTok, Germany’s political heavyweights are trying to muscle their way onto the social media platform ahead of June’s European elections.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, hardly famous for his sparky social media presence, made his unexpected debut on the platform in April, promising he won’t be caught dancing.

READ ALSO: A fight for the youth vote: Are German politicians social media savvy enough?

And vice-chancellor Robert Habeck followed soon afterwards, despite having previously quit Twitter and Facebook after his comments online sparked social media storms.

The timing of the German leaders’ moves to join TikTok appeared to fly in the face of growing concerns in the West over the video-sharing network.

Launched in 2016 by Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok has been threatened with a ban in the United States over concerns about espionage, while the EU is investigating whether its spinoff Lite app poses a risk to young users’ mental health.

But the network’s reach among young people has even led US President Joe Biden to tap it for his election campaign.

In Germany, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been by far the most successful political party on TikTok, originally known for its dance videos and challenges.

Ulrich Siegmund, a member of parliament for the AfD in Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt state, said his party’s engagement on the network has helped “many, many people to open their eyes”.