Iris Stalzer, the newly elected mayor of Herdecke in western Germany, is fighting for her life after being stabbed 13 times in what authorities have described as an 'abhorrent attack'. The 57-year-old was found with serious injuries in her apartment on Monday, just days after winning the mayoral election.
Police initially reported that her son had called emergency services claiming she had been attacked by several men outside the property. However, a later statement from prosecutors said there were no indications of a politically motivated act and that a family connection 'cannot be ruled out at present'. Her son was taken into custody to preserve evidence, and her 17-year-old daughter was also reportedly in the house at the time.
A neighbour told local media that they heard arguing between the son and Ms Stalzer shortly before the attack. 'They were literally screaming at each other,' the neighbour said. Investigators are still questioning the children to clarify the circumstances.
Ms Stalzer, a member of the centre-left Social Democrats, was elected mayor of the town of nearly 23,000 on 28 September and was due to take office on 1 November. Conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the attack on social media, expressing hope for her full recovery. The leader of the Social Democrats' parliamentary group, Matthias Miersch, said, 'We hope that she survives this terrible act.'
The attack comes amid rising concern over violence against politicians in Germany. A recent study found that 60 per cent of politicians had experienced violence at least once, and one in five said it had made them more reluctant to appear in public. The case echoes previous attacks on politicians, including the 2019 murder of conservative local official Walter Luebcke and the 2015 stabbing of Cologne mayor-elect Henriette Reker, who survived and remains in office.
