Several attacks on German lawmakers

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on May 4 condemned the attack on one of his party's lawmakers in the European Parliament (EP), saying it was a "threat" to democracy after authorities suspected the incident was politically motivated.

Police said four unidentified assailants attacked Matthias Ecke, a Social Democratic Party (SPD) lawmaker, as he was putting up posters for the European Union (EU) elections in the eastern German city of Dresden on the evening of May 3. Mr Ecke, 41, was seriously injured and had to undergo surgery in hospital.

In a statement the same day, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said: "If the attack was politically motivated... it is confirmed weeks before the European elections, this is a serious act of violence against democracy."

Ecke, who heads the SPD's election list in the European Parliament in the state of Saxony, is the latest political target to be attacked in Germany.

A day earlier, a 28-year-old man who was putting up posters for the Green Party was also attacked at the same location in Dresden.

On May 1, two Green Party lawmakers were also abused while campaigning in Essen, western Germany.

Last week, dozens of protesters surrounded Green Party Vice President Katrin Goering-Eckardt as she was in her car in eastern Germany.

Minister Faeser said extremists and populists were increasing their violent activities, affecting the European parliamentary elections scheduled for next June.

The SPD stressed the active role of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and other right-wing extremists in making the atmosphere more tense.