Veteran German left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht was splattered with red paint at a rally on Thursday, in an incident that her associates linked to her stance against arming Ukraine. A suspect has been detained.
Earlier this year, the firebrand MP split from Die Linke to establish the eponymous Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – a movement that is left-leaning on economic policy but closer to the far right on hot-button issues such as immigration.
She has repeatedly lambasted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government over its support for Ukraine.
During a campaign rally in Erfurt on Thursday evening, a man believed to be in his early 50s doused the podium with red paint. Wagenknecht escaped unscathed with a few specks of paint on her head, neck and upper body, according to her party’s spokesperson, Steffen Quasebarth. He added that the attacker appeared to have used a medical syringe.
The politician vacated the podium, but returned soon afterwards.
The offender was pinned to the ground and handcuffed by security personnel. Local media quoted the police as saying he is now being investigated for criminal damage to property. While his motive remains unknown, authorities believe it may have been political, the ZDF broadcaster reported.
Die WELT quoted Quasebarth and another member of Wagenknecht’s party as saying the attacker was shouting something either in Ukrainian or Russian, presumably making a reference to the military conflict between Kiev and Moscow.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) late on Thursday, Wagenknecht said she was unharmed, but feeling “shock in my bones.”
“But don’t worry: we will not allow to intimidate us!” the politician wrote.
Back in 2016, the left-wing MP was pelted with a cake over her stance on immigration.
Speaking at a rally in Berlin in June, Wagenknecht protested Berlin’s “crazy” decision to allow Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes into Russian territory.
“What scares me the most [is] the great danger that the war in Ukraine will become a major European war… they are crossing one red line after the other,” she argued at the time.
The politician called on the West to “stop playing with fire,” stressing the importance of attempts at a peaceful settlement.
“War does not end with weapons, war is ended with peace talks,” Wagenknecht argued.