Henriette Reker is not just any mayor. One Saturday in October 2015, a man shouting against refugees stabbed her in the neck with a knife because she had led a refugee reception in Cologne. The day after the attack, she won the election in the German city council with an absolute majority. Once arrested, the man accused Reker of flooding Germany with refugees, since the mayor had promised to improve living conditions for Syrians as winter approached. Many were living in tents and she wanted to avoid that.