While in France death threats against elected officials are increasing – 15 people were arrested in six months, we learned on Wednesday January 12 – and that several of them testified to acts of aggression, forcing the political class to react, what about our European neighbors? Some of them face the same phenomenon. As for example in the Netherlands where awareness dates back to the assassination of a populist leader twenty years ago, or in Great Britain: 60% of deputies contacted the police for threats in 2020.
40% of the elected representatives of the Netherlands have suffered violence and assault
The case dates back to 2002: Pim Fortuyn, populist leader, was assassinated in Hilversum when he left a television studio. During the trial, the assassin justified himself by recalling that Pim Fortuyn had designated Muslims as scapegoats as part of his anti-immigrant rhetoric. This assassination caused a shock wave even more in the Netherlands since the previous political assassination dated back to 1672.
And two years later – even if he was not a politician – the assassination of director Theo van Gogh by an Islamist terrorist brought to the fore among the Dutch the idea that the tradition of dialogue and consensus deeply rooted in Batavian culture had been replaced by violence. On the body of Théo van Gogh was also a list of potential targets, first and foremost Ayaan Hirsi Ali, at the time a member of the Labor Party.
But twenty years later, this political assassination remains an isolated fact in the Netherlands. On the other hand, violence against public officials has greatly increased. And recent facts have once again reminded us of this. A week ago, police arrested a 29-year-old man outside the home of Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag, whom he was threatening with a flaming torch in his hand. And the incident is not isolated since the minister responsible for the defense of rights had also suffered threats at his home in December. On Friday January 7, a rapper by the name of Convex Kafka was sentenced to seven weeks in prison, three of which were closed for calling for physical violence against the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health. These threats are in particular the daily lot of Geert Wilders, the leader of the party for freedom, openly opposed to immigration and Islam and who has lived for years under permanent police protection.
If these are not isolated facts, it is because in fact they concern all elected representatives in the Netherlands. According to the Interior Ministry, more than 40% of them have had to suffer violence and assault, against 29% four years ago. Verbal assaults, for example, more and more widespread on social networks. They concern both the municipal and provincial level, the equivalent of our departments. More than 600 reports were filed in a year with a new unit, called “Violence against politicians”. A bill has been introduced to double the maximum sentence for threats against mayors and other local elected officials from two to four years.
In the United Kingdom, the budget for the security of the deputies multiplied by four
In the United Kingdom, violence against MPs is also a recurring topic. Two examples, among the most serious, that the British have well in mind: Joe Cox, Labor MP killed a week before the Brexit referendum in 2016, and David Amess, fatally stabbed last October. So since then, the security system for British MPs has been often discussed and all options are on the table.
That day, in the town of Leigh-On-Sean, an hour from London, a Tory MP, David Amess, was on a parliamentary call in a church when he was savagely stabbed by a 25-year-old accused murder and preparation for terrorist acts. The man decided to plead not guilty.
Interior Minister Priti Patel has since promised to put new measures in place. Police protection during parliamentary hotlines is one of the preferred solutions, but the opposition believes that this would intimidate voters. For the moment, there is no national plan in place even if many deputies say they are very worried for their safety. Some have received death threats by email, intimidation and sometimes have been harassed on social media for several years. Several deputies have adopted a “panic button” , a “beeper” to call the police quickly in the event of an assault.
Recently, it is obviously the Covid and the vaccination that have provoked verbal violence. Chris Whitty, the government’s medical adviser, was called a “liar” in the middle of the street, allegedly spreading false information on television. The Minister of Health of Northern Ireland has meanwhile decided to strengthen security at home, to protect his young children, following numerous threats.
Before that, it was Brexit that had generated tensions. The attacks had been numerous during the years of negotiations for the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. Starting with Joe Cox, this Labor MP coldly killed in the street by a right-wing extremist, while she was campaigning against Brexit. Result: the budget for the security of British MPs has exploded. It went from 200,000 euros in 2015 against more than four million in 2019. And the number of attacks continues to increase: according to a BBC study, last year, 60% of deputies contacted the police after have received threats.