German left-wing populist party leader Sahra Wagenknecht was attacked during a campaign stop eastern city of Erfurt on Thursday afternoon as a man rushed the stage and launched red liquid at her.
A middle-aged man has been arrested after he approached the leftist-nationalist politician, who leads the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) party, and sprayed her with what is believed to have been red paint. The man was arrested on suspicion of property damage and defamation. The motive for the incident is currently unknown.
According to the BSW’s local press officer, Wagenknecht was hit with the paint in her head, neck, and upper body. He claimed that the assailant had used a type of “medical syringe” to launch the paint, broadcaster DW reports.
After briefly leaving the stage in Thuringia, where state elections will be held this weekend, Wagenknecht returned and told the crowd that “some people don’t want us” in power, but added: “Don’t let yourself be intimidated — we won’t let ourselves be intimidated.”
Following the incident, she wrote on the X social media platform: “Thank you very much for all the concerned inquiries: I’m fine. I’m just still a little scared. But don’t worry: we won’t let ourselves be intimidated!”
Wagenknecht, a veteran of various leftist parties in Germany, split with The Left last year after clashing with the party on various issues such as the coronavirus vaccines and lockdowns, immigration policy, and the war in Ukraine. She went on to found her own eponymous political party earlier this year and has sought to challenge the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) for the populist vote.
Coming from a left-wing perspective, Wagenknecht has become a leading voice against mass migration in Germany, arguing that the influx of foreigners into the country must be limited to protect native-born workers and that welfare benefits to asylum seekers should be cut.
For her anti-mass migration stance, Wagenknecht has previously faced political violence from the far left. During The Left’s 2016 party convention in Magdeburg, a member of an Antifa cell smashed a cake in her face, with the group claiming the attack was motivated by her stance that not all refugees should be welcomed into Germany.
She has also been a prominent critic of Berlin’s support for the war in Ukraine, most recently arguing that German military aid should be cut off to Kyiv if allegations of Ukraine’s involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines are true. Wagenknecht has also demanded that an investigation be launched to determine whether the German government had any foreknowledge of the attack on Germany’s energy infrastructure.
While her party is only several months old, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance is currently polling in third place in the Thuringia state election, with projections estimating that the party is on pace to secure between 17 and 20 per cent of the vote, behind her former party, The Left, and the right-wing populist AfD.