German election candidate attacked on campaign

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has condemned an onslaught connected a European Parliament subordinate from his party, calling it a "threat" to democracy.

Matthias Ecke, the Social Democratic Party's (SPD) apical campaigner successful Saxony, was assaulted connected Friday arsenic helium hung posters successful Dresden.

Mr Ecke, 41, was "seriously injured" and required an cognition aft the incident, constabulary said.

The existent MEP was campaigning for June's European Parliament election.

Four chartless attackers deed and kicked Mr Ecke successful the Striesen territory successful Dresden, East Germany.

"Democracy is threatened by this benignant of act," Mr Scholz told a legislature of European socialist parties successful Berlin.

"We indispensable ne'er judge specified acts of violence... we indispensable reason it together."

Shortly earlier the incident, the aforesaid radical look to person attacked a 28-year-old Greens campaigner connected the aforesaid street, constabulary said.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warned "extremists and populists are stirring up a clime of expanding violence".

The SPD blamed supporters of the far-right enactment Alternative for Germany enactment (AfD) for the attack.

"Their supporters are present wholly disinhibited and seemingly spot america democrats arsenic just game," Henning Homann and Kathrin Michel, who seat the SPD's Saxony branch, said successful the statement.

"The onslaught connected Matthias Ecke is an unmistakable alarm awesome to each radical successful this country."

"Our antiauthoritarian values ​​are nether attack."

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola expressed her solidarity with Mr Ecke, saying she was "horrified" by the "vicious attack".

On Thursday 2 Greens deputies were harassed portion campaigning successful Essen successful occidental Germany and 1 was deed successful the face, constabulary said.