A late-night attack on the home of a local politician raises concerns that public officials are increasingly finding themselves the target of intimidation. Elected officials fear that a culture of political violence is emerging in Denmark after a firebomb was thrown at the home of a councillor in the city of Korsør in western Zealand on Monday night. | Culture of political violence? |
The bomb missed its target, and Fritz Neumann, a member of the Danish People's Party, and his family escaped unharmed, but police say the attack is just the latest in a string of similar incidents. Six other city council members in Korsør have received written and electronic threats signed 'Allah is great' and 'Al Qaeda-network' in the past three months. Police believe they were related and could have to do with a rejected application for asylum. | Asylum? Not the Allan cartoons? |
The latest bombing renewed concerns that Denmark's relaxed politicial culture made politicians particularly vulnerable to attacks.
Monday's attempted arson brought back memories of a similar attack on the home of the minister of integration, Rikke Hvilshøj, last year. In two separate incidents, police also recently arrested young men who issued death threats to PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Social Liberal MP Naser Khader. | Any details on those young men? Hello? |
Political observers were unable to single out a motive for the attacks. Many of the incidents have targeted right-of-centre politicians, but they dismissed the idea that left-wing militants could be the source. 'The crisis about the cartoons of Mohammed could have been a clear chance for more militant groups to make an impact, because there was such a clear polarisation. Nevertheless, you didn't see those groups step forward,' René Karpantschof, a socioligist at Copenhagen University, told daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende.
| Just because they didn't include a note, doesn't mean they didn't do it |
Lack of respect was one likely cause, according to Niels Jørgen Cappelørn, the director of the Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre. | Lack of respect for law and order, freedom of speech, freedom of religion.....oh, that's not what you mean? |
'I don't think this is an expression of a political rebellion. I think it's a desperate yell by people who cannot figure out how to communicate in a society that's racing ahead with the speed of a bullet train,' said Cappelørn. | Or a cry of "Kill the Infidels" by a society that communicates with fire and the sword |
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