German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday condemned a string of recent attacks on politicians and political campaign workers as "outrageous and cowardly."
"Those who get involved deserve respect. Violence has no place in democratic debate," Scholz wrote in a post to X. "The decent and reasonable people are clearly against it - and they are the majority!"
Scholz cited Tuesday's attack on Franziska Giffey, Berlin's former mayor and the leader of the Social Democrats (SPD) in the German capital. Giffey, who currently serves as the city's economy minister, was hit over the head while visiting a library.
Also on Tuesday, a local Green Party candidate in the eastern city of Dresden was assaulted while campaigning in a separate incident. That attack followed the brutal beating on Friday of a SPD member of European Parliament while hanging campaign posters in Dresden.
The incidents, which happened ahead of the European elections in June, prompted widespread expressions of outrage and dismay in Germany.