Germany is considering scrapping a special law that prohibits insulting politicians following a series of high-profile cases in which private citizens found themselves under investigation by the police for publicly calling politicians "Schwachkopf" (idiot), "Lügenfritz" (lying Fritz) or "Pinocchio" on social media.
Section 188 of Germany's Criminal Code states that anyone found guilty of defamation "against a person involved in the popular political life" can theoretically be imprisoned for up to three years if the offense makes the politician's public activities "substantially more difficult." In practice, however, most prosecutions have ended with fines.
The law was toughened in 2021, partly in response to the murder of the conservative Christian Democrat Walter Lübcke in 2019, to allow state prosecutors to pursue such offenses even if the politician in question does not press charges.
Insults and attacks on politicians have been on the rise in Germany in recent years: According to statistics reported by public broadcaster ARD in May, police recorded 5,140 crimes targeting political representatives and party members in 2025. That was up from 3,690 such incidents in 2024 and 2,790 in 2023.As economy minister, the Green Robert Habeck was the butt of jokes but also the target of street and social media protestImage: IPON/IMAGO
