Following an attack on a German politician which injured him seriously, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for united action against right-wing extremism.
"Democracy is threatened by something like this, and that is why shrugging our shoulders is never an option," said Scholz. "We must stand together against it."
Matthias Ecke, 41, is a member of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and a current lawmaker in the European Parliament. He was attacked by four assailants while putting up campaign posters in the eastern German city of Dresden late on Friday evening.
Police said on Saturday that Ecke was seriously injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
At a democracy congress for the upcoming European elections in Berlin, Scholz said on Saturday that the attack on Ecke was depressing.
The fact that such things happen also has something to do with the speeches that are made and the moods that are created, said Scholz, referring to the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The SPD's leaders in Saxony blamed the AfD and other right-wing extremist groups for sowing hatred against democratic politicians and warned that right-wing supporters "are now completely uninhibited" and see democratic politicians as "fair game."