Landlords in Germany Refuse to Rent to Political Parties After Attacks

Political parties of the right and the left are having a hard time finding office space in Eastern Germany as landlords refuse to rent to them because of extremist vandalism and attacks.

The anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the left-wing Die Linke have very little in common when it comes to political policy, but they share an issue with finding landlords in East Germany that will rent to them.  Landlords in the former East Germany are hesitant after a wave of politically motivated attacks against both parties by far left and far right extremists reports Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

The leader of the anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany party Frauke Petry and her colleagues are becoming more and more used to the attacks from far left extremists. Ms. Petry, who lives in the city of Leipzig, said the attacks, which often target members of the party in their homes, are making it difficult for her to find a place to live.

The AfD leader said that is was difficult for her to find an apartment in her constituency because of the constant threat of attacks and landlords not wanting their property damaged. Earlier this year left-wing extremists published the addresses of AfD members online encouraging extremists to pay them a visit with one member saying “happy hunting.”

Petry has also suffered damage to her property as her car was set on fire in the days before the Berlin elections in December and other members of the party have been physically assaulted, some even caught on camera.

Die Linke, which grew out of the former ruling party of communist East Germany, have also been the victims of vandalism to their offices as the office of Die Linke member Susanne Schaper was vandalized. The entrance of the office was spraypainted with the words “I love National Socialism” or Nazism, and her picture given a Hitler mustache. Paint-filled light bulbs were also thrown through the windows of the office.

Since the vandalism, which occurred in October of last year, Schaper has sought a new office but has been rejected by ten different landlords.

The situation with regard to political violence has become so bad in the German state of Saxony that the parliament in Dresden has had to create a special 100,000 euro fund because insurance companies refuse to cover members of parties like the AfD and Die Linke. The parliament has also started providing politicians training on how to better secure their homes and offices.