German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is calling for a crackdown on left-wing extremists following an arson attack on the power supply to the Tesla factory near Berlin.
"It appears to have been a suspected left-wing extremist action; it was a serious arson attack that has left many, many thousands, especially households, without electricity," the minister told dpa on Thursday.
She condemned the fact that the attack led to power cuts in hospitals and doctors' surgeries, which could be life-threatening.
Faeser said in the video interview that "left-wing radicalism is becoming tougher, more violent and does not shy away from such actions, and we must have a tough response." She said the public prosecutor's office should crack down "and severe penalties must also be imposed."
On Tuesday, the as yet unknown perpetrators set fire to an electricity pylon which forms part of the Tesla factory's supply infrastructure. Production at the plant in Grünheide in the eastern state of Brandenburg that surrounds Berlin was subsequently halted.
Tens of thousands of residents in the region were also affected by the power outage. The security services believe a letter with a claim of responsibility for the attack is authentic and categorized the perpetrators as belonging to the left-wing extremist spectrum.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior had warned of possible attacks on the energy supply and other elements of critical infrastructure some time ago, Faeser said.
A draft law to be discussed by the German Cabinet in the coming weeks will oblige the operators of critical infrastructure to take more security precautions.
