The newly elected mayor of a western German town is fighting for her life after being stabbed 13 times in what police described as an ‘abhorrent attack’. Iris Stalzer, 57, was found with serious injuries in her apartment in Herdecke, North Rhine-Westphalia, on Monday, just days after winning the election.
Police said that her son was led away in handcuffs to preserve evidence, while her 17-year-old daughter was also present in the house at the time. Initial reports suggested the son had called police claiming she had been attacked by several men outside, but investigators later stated there were ‘no indications of a politically motivated act’, adding that a family connection ‘cannot be ruled out’.
Ms Stalzer’s children remain with police as inquiries continue. A neighbour told Bild newspaper that they heard ‘the boy and his mother arguing’ and ‘literally screaming at each other’ half an hour before the rescue helicopter arrived.
Ms Stalzer, a member of the centre-left Social Democrats, was elected mayor of Herdecke, a town of nearly 23,000, on 28 September and was due to take office on 1 November. Conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the ‘terrible deed’ on social media, saying: ‘We fear for the life of the mayor-designate and hope for her full recovery.’
Matthias Miersch, leader of the Social Democrats’ parliamentary group in Berlin, told reporters: ‘We hope that she survives this terrible act. We can’t say anything at the moment about the background.’ The attack follows a particularly vicious regional campaign in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Ms Stalzer, a labour law lawyer who has lived most of her life in Herdecke, is married with two teenage children. The incident highlights a growing problem of violence against politicians in Germany, where studies show 60 per cent have experienced violence at least once.
