Former finance minister Lindner faces protest pie attack
Former finance minister in Olaf Scholz's government, Christian Lindner, was attacked during a meeting with voters in Greifswald when a young woman threw a plate of shaving foam at his face. The politician did not hold back.
Christian Lindner is the leader of Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP). From 2021 to 2024, he served as finance minister in Olaf Scholz's government. During the meeting with voters in Greifswald, he discussed the topic of "citizen's income," an unemployment benefit introduced in Germany at the beginning of 2023.
"We call it basic security, not citizen's income, because citizen's income suggests it is granted in exchange for services. Wrong. It is a solidarity benefit," explained the politician.
However, not everyone was pleased with the former finance minister's speech. Suddenly, from behind the politician, one of the meeting participants stood up and threw something resembling a cake with whipped cream at Lindner's face. The politician did not hold back and rubbed some of the foam into the girl's hair himself.
He then tasted the foam and continued his speech as if nothing had happened. "Unfortunately, it wasn't cream, but soap. At least they could have done it better; then I would have gotten something out of it," continued Lindner, wiping his face with a napkin. The FDP spokeswoman said it was shaving foam. On the bottom of the plate with the foam, there was an inscription "for the love of freedom."
Leftist activist attacked the politician
According to BILD, the police are investigating the woman on charges of bodily harm and insult. She was not, however, taken into custody.
The German tabloid discovered that the assailant was a student, Christiane K. from Greifswald, who is active in the Left Party and a leftist student group at the University of Greifswald.
After Lindner's resignation, there was a downfall
At the end of December, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved the Bundestag and called for early parliamentary elections on 23 February 2025. He thus complied with the request of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose minority government failed to secure a vote of confidence on 16 December.
The Bundestag on 16 December refused to grant a vote of confidence to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The parliament's decision, consistent with the head of government's intention, paved the way for early elections.
In a nominal vote, 349 deputies rejected the motion for a vote of confidence, while 207 supported the chancellor; 116 abstained. Scholz then announced he would promptly appeal to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve the Bundestag. The head of state had time until 6 January to make a decision.
The coalition government led by Scholz, consisting of the SPD, Greens, and FDP, lost its majority after the resignation in November of finance minister Christian Lindner from the FDP; it had been in power since December 2021.
