Election campaign cake meets Lindner: worries about violence in politics!

At a campaign event in Greifswald, an incident occurred that heats up the political debate in Germany again. A young local politician of the left put FDP boss Christian Lindner on January 9, 2025 with a cake made of shaving foam. The attack hit Lindner directly in the face and provided numerous reactions from politics and the public.

As a result of the incident, readers expressed concern about the increasing provocations and assault on politicians. Christian Lindner himself warned of a "brutalization" in the political argument and made comparisons to the United States. Dietmar Bartsch, the former Bundestag parliamentary group leader of the Left, also described physical attacks as unacceptable, although Lindner took the incident and was not injured.

political reactions to the incident

The reactions to the cake throw were diverse. Marco Buschmann, the designated FDP general secretary, expressed sharp criticism of the crime and emphasized that such attacks have lost nothing in a democracy. In addition, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz sentenced the incident to be unlisted and dangerous and spoke of solidarity under Democrats.

The nationwide top of the Left Party also distanced itself from the actions of the local politician and emphasized the need to seek a factual discussion in politics. Karl Lauterbach, the Federal Minister of Health, was concerned about the crime and demanded that violence should not be tolerated, while Robert Habeck, top candidate for the Greens, criticized the assault in political discourse. Friedrich Merz, Union Chancellor candidate, also expressed his fears about the increasing willingness to violence in the political discussion.

In terms of legal measures, an advertisement against the 34-year-old cake thrower was filed for assault and insult. The police found the attacker's personal details, but did not arrest. The criminal police are currently investigating and the state security was involved due to the politically motivated act.