Threatening letters sent to top German politicians
September 21, 2017
Letters with white powder and razor blades have been sent to Chancellor Angela Merkel and other politicians days before Germany votes. Arabic typos raised doubts as to whether far-right activists sent the letters.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Kneffel
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Police in Berlin are on the case after several threatening letters containing suspicious substances were sent to high-ranking German politicians, including the home of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, authorities said on Thursday.
Several anonymous letters, containing razor blades, white powder and a threatening text written in typo-laden Arabic, were sent to the private homes of several politicians. Police said the threatening missives were received on Wednesday and Thursday.
One of the letter recipients, Green party MP Hans-Christian Ströbele, posted a picture of the letter and its contents on Twitter.
Another letter was addressed to Merkel's husband, Joachim Sauer, and delivered to their private home. The head of Merkel's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, Horst Seehofer also received letter, as did Green party top candidate Katrin Göring-Eckardt.
Social Democrat (SPD) Integration Minister Aydan Özoguz was also sent a letter as well as Left party parliamentarians Gesine Lötzsch and Gregor Gysi, according to media reports.
"If it is a threat, which is suspected, I am only concerned about where they got the private addresses of the politicians affected, including mine," Gysi told public broadcasters NDR and WDR.
The typed letters warned that its contents were "deadly," but an initial analysis of the white substance indicated that it was harmless soda powder, police said.
"According to the findings so far, there was no danger for the recipients," an Interior Ministry spokesperson told German news agency DPA.
Questions over anonymous sender
The Arabic text in the letters mentioned a "German Salafist association," but the numerous spelling errors have cast doubts over who sent the threatening letters.
Experts who analyzed the letters say they were most likely written by someone who was not a native Arabic speaker.
"There's a certain likelihood that despite the Arabic language used here that the radical right sent the message," Ströbele told NDR and WDR.
Left party lawmaker Lötsch also told the broadcasters that since the letters were sent just days before Germany's general election, "only shows that the sender wanted to gain more attention."
Berlin police said that Germany's domestic security agency was investigating the matter.
rs/sms (AFP, dpa)
Germany's candidates will do nearly anything for a vote
Federal elections are around the corner in Germany, and candidates vying for a Bundestag seat are trying just about anything to garner a vote. We visited some unusual sites where candidates have hit the campaign trail.
Image: DW/R. Oberhammer
The right shade of Green
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (The Greens) are known as Germany's evironment party. So of course party members in Osterode, a 24,000-resident city in the heart of Germany, have been sending their candidate Viola von Cramon out on the e-biking trail for campaigning events.
Image: DW/R. Oberhammer
Playing boules for a vote
And Viola von Cramon's trail leads right to a boules court in Osterode. There, interested boules players can munch on organic cheese and bread, and drink eco-friendly wine or juice while chatting with the candidate and playing their beloved game. They can also easily register to become Greens members.
Image: DW/R. Oberhammer
Focused on the game
But things are rather slow-paced here, with boules players keeping their eye more on points than on votes. Still, it's a place dear to the Osterode Green Party, who established the court a few years back.
Image: DW/R. Oberhammer
Campaigning in an immigrant district
In Cologne's Chorweiler district, where 75 percent of people have a "migration background," the Left Party (Die Linke) put on a campaign picnic complete with barbeque stands, free drinks, table soccer and balloons. But election campaigners don't just want to pass out free stuff; they also want to offer people information.
Image: DW/P. Böll
Listening and speaking the same language
The candidate for Die Linke (the Left Party) for the Chorweiler district is Güldane Tokyürek. It is hoped her Turkish background makes it easier for immigrants to lend her their ear. She aims to make these people feel that they are part of German society and are not being "left behind."
Image: DW/P. Böll
Left Party platform
Here, people can look at the Left Party's platform and mark whether they agree or disagree. One of the visitors says he's against a minimum wage of 12 euros ($14.4); it's too little, he says. Others ask questions. Some of the visitors are open to the Left Party, but don't agree with all of the issues.
Image: DW/P. Böll
A clubhouse is almost better than a beer tent
The residents of idyllic Kulmbach in Upper Franconia were shaken from their daydreams when CSU (Bavarian sister party of the Christian Democrats, or CDU) candidate Emmi Zeulner rolled in with CDU heavyweight Wolfgang Bosbach. The venue was low-key, being a soccer club house replete with sports and CSU decorations, but people came from all over the district to hear Bosbach speak.
Image: DW/P. Böll
Keep the controversy coming, please!
But it's not just a back-slapping, happy-go-lucky event. On the contrary, everything from "true" and "fake" patriotism, a cap on refugee admissions, and German "dominant culture" are put on the table. Candidate Emmi Zeulner smoothed the waters, however.
Image: DW/P. Böll
Skeptical observer
This man is obviously skeptical. It's not just tried-and-true Christian Democrats who have come to this event at the soccer club house. Indeed, the CDU has lost many of its voters to the far right populist party, Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Image: DW/P. Böll
Bells and whistles
Members of the Young Socialists, the younger generation of Social Democrats (SPD), came to Lübeck to show their support for frontrunner Martin Schulz before a major television appearance - complete with soap bubbles and flags.
Image: DW/R. Oberhammer
He just has to meet them
Martin Schulz, surrounded by heavy security, actually approaches the Young Socialists and lets them take pictures with him. Is it a last attempt to gain popularity?
Image: DW/R. Oberhammer
A minute for the press
Studio guests are alert and ready for the major candidate. Photographers are permitted to take pictures when Schulz enters, yet each step is choreographed before the "Wahlarena" ("Election Arena") show broadcast on German public broadcaster ARD gets underway. It's Schulz's last major campaign appearance before the election.
Image: DW/R. Oberhammer
Election campaign in a shisha bar
The Federal Convention of the satirical party "Die Partei" was held at a shisha or "hookah" bar in Frankfurt an der Oder. Despite the unorthodox venue, the candidates donned conventional suits, while supporters held up party flags - just like at major party campaign events.
Image: DW/R. Oberhammer
"Minimum brain for everyone!"
Kilian Galle is 21, and a major fan of humor and satire – without really wanting to commit to a particular political bent. "We say we are part of the 'radical middle.' And that fits!," he says. The Partei people are word pros, but not everyone gets their jokes and word plays. Some who are interested in the party might want a little more content in their platform.
Image: DW/R. Oberhammer
Searing "election campaign speech" by the district chairperson
Die Partei aims to use humor to get people interested in politics again, so they organize media-effective events for addressing serious topics in a humorous way. It also helps to offer pizza and free drinks, like here during a speech by district chairman Philipp Henning.
