A prominent German politician was splashed with red liquid, possibly paint, during an election campaign event

Zara Vagenknecht, founder of the new alliance BSW, was slightly splashed but briefly left the stage after the incident, dpa reported.

Security forces immediately tackled the man to the ground, handcuffed him and led him away. Wagenknecht returned to the stage and later wrote on X that she was scared but fine.

Although no one was injured in Erfurt, the incident comes at a time of heightened political violence in Germany. In May, a prominent Berlin politician was attacked and suffered head and neck injuries. Earlier, the candidate for Chancellor Olaf Schulz’s party suffered a crushing defeat in the eastern city of Dresden and had to undergo surgery.

Both the government and opposition say their members and supporters have faced a wave of physical and verbal attacks in recent months and have called on police to increase security for politicians and election rallies.

Wagenknecht is campaigning in Thuringia, one of two eastern states that will vote on Sunday. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) could become the strongest party for the first time.

But Ms Wagenknecht, who founded her own BSW party in January, also hopes to shake things up as the national government is shaken by internal divisions and falling public opinion.

The high support rates for the AfD and BSW are the highest in the former communist east, partly due to dissatisfaction with the country’s government. The parties in Scholz’s ruling coalition quarreled publicly during the European Parliament election in June, which did not end well. Disagreements over the 2025 budget further exacerbated internal disputes in the summer.

Wagenknecht has proposed left-leaning economic policies, including high wages and generous benefits, and a tough stance on immigration. It has also questioned some plans to combat climate change and opposes current sanctions against Russia, once Germany’s main gas supplier, and Berlin’s arms supplies to Ukraine.

She said her party would only join governments of countries that “take a clear position in favour of diplomacy and against preparations for war”.