Warning signs over threats to Australian politicians were rising before MP hit by car – BBC

Warning signs over threats to Australian politicians were rising before MP hit by car  BBCHelen Haines: Car ‘did a u-turn’ in order to hit Australian MP, Anthony Albanese says  BBCBrendan Nugent named as driver apprehended over alleged attack on Helen Haines  The GuardianAustralian prime minister says lawmaker critically injured by car is ‘no accident’  NPRAustralian lawmaker Helen Haines in critical condition after vehicle attack  Yahoo News Canada

In the wake of the apparent attack on MP Helen Haines, MPs have described locking their office doors, and scanning every crowd for potential threats. As increasingly frequent acts of violence against politicians have shocked the globe in recent years, Australia has watched on with a contradictory feeling: that attacks like that could not happen here, and that it was only a matter of time until they did. Australians will tell you this is a largely peaceful society with a comparatively civil public discourse. Violence targeting politicians has been rare, the bungled assassination of Labor leader Arthur Calwell in 1966 now a distant and fleeting memory.

But MPs and public figures – backed by experts – have been warning of a volcano of threats against them as social cohesion cracks, polarisation intensifies and the tone of debate grows hotter. And on Monday, their worst fears appear to have been realised. Independent MP Helen Haines was struck by a car and severely injured outside her office in the regional Victorian town of Wangaratta. Police say a 43-year-old man was arrested at the scene, and