Henriette Reker, who was running for mayor of the city of Cologne as an independent candidate backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU Party, was stabbed in the neck and severely wounded on October 17 by a 44-year-old German national for supporting the recent influx of refugees into the country.
Reker was campaigning in an open-air market, handing out roses to pedestrians, when a middle-aged man approached her and asked for a flower. “When she tried to give him one, he pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the neck,” campaign spokesman Frederik Schorn told CNN.
According to police, the man – an unemployed former painter and varnisher living on welfare – had issues with Reker’s pro-refugee policies. The assailant told police that “he wanted to and did commit this act because of anti-foreigner motives”. He reportedly shouted about an “influx of refugees” immediately before the attack and called out, “I am the Messiah. I’m doing it for you all.”
58-year-old Reker, who currently heads Cologne’s social affairs and integration department and is in-charge for housing thousands of migrants fleeing violence in the Middle East, was on October 18 elected first female mayor of the city. She is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
Recovering from knife attack, new Mayor of Cologne Henriette #Reker is now out of intensive care and able to speak. https://t.co/KzTQ7AkgKQ
— Ben C42 (@BenC42) October 23, 2015
Reker’s win is seen as an indicator that Merkel’s controversial open-arms welcome of refugees has broad support among German voters. Not only did Reker (with 52% votes) win an unlikely majority in a multi-candidate election, but the second-place candidate was also pro-refugee and collected 32%. The candidate of the most prominent anti-immigrant political party in Germany, Alternative for Deutschland, took just 4%, and a more radical anti-immigrant party didn’t poll even 1%.
Henriette #Reker, stabbed and seriously injured yesterday, won absolute majority in Cologne’s mayoral election. pic.twitter.com/bVFILPQdfp — Laura Schneider (@alauraschneider) October 18, 2015
My thoughts with Henriette #Reker, known for active role in helping #refugees, who suffered serious wounds after being stabbed in the neck. — Fuad Alakbarov (@DrAlakbarov) October 19, 2015
Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said in a statement that he was “deeply shocked by this heinous and cowardly act”. He added that the stabbing was “further evidence of the increasing radicalization of the refugee debate”. Merkel also condemned the incident and urged people to vote and show that “extremists and lunatics don’t stand a chance in Cologne”.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to Twitter to condemn the assailant and his motives.
Der Angriff ist einer auf die Demokratie und auf die DemokratInnen. Ihr kriegt uns nicht klein. Unsere Gedanken sind bei Henriette #Reker — K. Göring-Eckardt (@GoeringEckardt) October 17, 2015
Der Angriff auf Henriette #Reker war ein rechter Terroranschlag. Nach dem Geständnis ist Zurückhaltung die falsche Reaktion. #niewiedernsu
— Erik Marquardt (@ErikMarquardt) October 17, 2015
Unfassbar was für kranke Menschen es doch gibt. Alles erdenklich Gute an Henriette #Reker — Fake Marcel Reif (@ReifZahl) October 17, 2015
Germany expects to receive up to 1.5 million asylum seekers this year. But many Germans feel that the country cannot cope with the record numbers of refugees. Merkel’s policy has led to growing tensions in Germany, triggering a backlash from her conservative allies and spawning a growing number of increasingly vocal far-right protests.
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