The mayor of a western German town is fighting for her life a day after she was stabbed 13 times in an “abhorrent attack”, according to reports.
Iris Stalzer, 57, was found with serious injuries and several stab wounds in her apartment in Herdecke in North Rhine-Westphalia on Monday, German media reported. The attack came days after she was elected.
Her son was led away in handcuffs to preserve evidence, police told the German newspaper Bild. Her daughter, 17, was also reportedly in the house at the time.
Initial reports said that the son called police to report that she had been attacked by several men outside the property.
But a later statement from police and prosecutors said that, as things stand, “there are no indications of a politically motivated act”, adding that a family connection “cannot be ruled out at present”.
It did not elaborate but said that Ms Stalzer’s children were still with police to clear up what happened.
“The crime scene is located at the politician’s home. Extensive evidence is being secured. The Herdecker woman’s minor children are still with the police as they investigate further,” investigators said, according to Westfalenpost.
A neighbour told Bild: “Half an hour before the rescue helicopter landed, I heard the boy and his mother arguing. They were literally screaming at each other.”
Ms Stalzer was elected mayor of Herdecke, a town of nearly 23,000, on 28 September, as a member of the centre-left Social Democrats. She is due to take office on 1 November.
Conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the “terrible deed” on social media. “It must be swiftly investigated. We fear for the life of the mayor-designate and hope for her full recovery,” he added.
The leader of the Social Democrats’ parliamentary group in Berlin, Matthias Miersch, told reporters that “we heard a few minutes ago that newly elected mayor Iris Stalzer was stabbed in Herdecke”.
“We hope that she survives this terrible act. We can’t say anything at the moment about the background,” he added.
Ms Stalzer beat a candidate from Mr Merz’s centre-right Christian Democrats in a runoff election.
The vote came after a regional campaign that politicians in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s largest state, said was distinguished by a particularly vicious tone.
Ms Stalzer’s website says she is married with two teenage children, and has spent almost her whole life in Herdecke. She has worked as a lawyer specialising in labour law.
In Germany, a recent study found that 60 per cent of politicians had experienced violence at least once. One in five said it had made them more reluctant to appear in public.
In 2019, conservative local government president Walter Luebcke, a supporter of the then chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policy, was shot dead by a far-right activist on his terrace at home.
Henriette Reker was stabbed by a right-wing extremist in 2015, the day before being elected mayor of Cologne. She made a full recovery and is still in office.
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