High-profile politician sprayed with liquid as Germany prepares for key state elections

30 August 2024 , 13:22

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Sahra Wagenknecht and party colleague Steffen Quasebarth react on stage as they are sprayed with red paint during a campaign event for the upcoming state elections, in Erfurt, eastern Germany Photograph: Ronny Hartmann/AFP/Getty Images

Sahra Wagenknecht, whose alliance opposes Nato and military aid for Ukraine, said she was ‘scared but fine’ after incident in Erfurt

Sahra Wagenknecht was sprayed with a red liquid during a campaign event yesterday in Erfurt.

A man was immediately pushed to the ground by security forces and taken away, the Associated Press reported.

Wagenknecht, a high-profile politician who left the far-left Die Linke and set up her own party, wrote on the social media that she was scared but fine.

Her eight-month-old party, the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance), blends scepticism about migration, opposition to Nato, backing for high taxes on the rich and resistance to military aid for Ukraine.

Polls indicate the BSW could find itself in the role of kingmaker in German states holding elections this month.

Sahra Wagenknecht (2nd R), who leads the leftist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), reacts as a coloured substance is thrown at her during a speech while campaigning ahead of Thuringia state elections on August 29, 2024 in Erfurt, Germany. Photograph: Jens Schlueter/Getty Images

Bodyguards take away a man who allegedly carried out an attack with red paint at an election campaign event organized by the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) on Cathedral Square, in Erfurt, Germany, Thursday Aug. 29, 2024. Photograph: Martin Schutt/AP

Emma Davis