Karamba Diaby, 62, who entered the German parliament (Bundestag) in 2013 in a moment described by activists as historic, said he “wants to spend more time with his family, and make room for younger politicians.”
But his announcement comes just weeks after he went public with a series of hate mail he and his parliamentary staff received.
Diaby said the racist insults and death threats were “not the main reasons for his decision”, after repeatedly insisting they “would not scare him”, but it is widely believed that these messages played a role in his decision.
Diaby had previously stressed the “growing hostile mood in parliament and society”, and blamed “the entry of the far-right populist Alternative for Germany party into the Bundestag in 2017”.
“Since 2017, the tone in the German parliament has become harsher. We hear aggressive speeches from AfD colleagues,” he said on the Berlin Playbook podcast.
“We hear offensive and hurtful content, and this is really a completely new situation compared to the period between 2013 and 2017. This aggressive style of speech is a fertile ground for violence and aggression in the streets,” he added.
Diaby, of the Social Democratic Party, entered parliament alongside Charles Huber, who represented the Christian Democrats for only one parliamentary term, and the two were the first black members of the Bundestag.
Diaby, who holds a PhD in chemistry, was born in Senegal and moved to the then East Germany in 1985.
The MP has increasingly faced racist abuse in recent years, with his constituency office being the target of arson and his window shot through.
Diaby said some employees in his office faced blackmail attempts to prevent them from working with him and were threatened.
“In the past few years, I have faced several death threats. This has now crossed the line. The hatred that the AfD sows every day through its rhetoric is reflected in concrete psychological and physical violence, and this endangers the cohesion of our society. We simply cannot accept this,” he continued.
In his speech to party colleagues on Tuesday, Diaby promised to remain active in the Social Democratic Party, especially in the 15 months leading up to the elections, saying: “We face great challenges and hard work.”
“At the same time, I look forward to spending more time with my family and friends,” he added.
#racist #insults #death #threats #Africanborn #member #German #parliament #withdraws
