Attack on the open street
Man hits Danish Prime Minister
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Denmark's Prime Minister Frederiksen is in shock after an attack. In Copenhagen, she was the victim of a man who beat her in the street. The perpetrator has been arrested, police say. The background to the attack is still unclear.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been attacked in the street. The Prime Minister was beaten by a man in a square in the capital Copenhagen in the evening, her office said. The man was arrested. Frederiksen was “shocked by the incident,” her office said. Top EU politicians sharply criticized the attack.
The police initially only confirmed an incident in connection with the head of government, without giving any details. One person was arrested and the incident is being investigated. No further details will be given for the time being, the police said on X.
Two witnesses told the newspaper BT that they saw Frederiksen come onto the square shortly before 6 p.m. while they were sitting nearby. A man came from the opposite direction and pushed Frederiksen hard on the shoulder, causing her to fall to the side. It was a strong push, but Frederiksen did not fall to the ground.
The Danish Prime Minister then sat down in a nearby café, the witnesses said. The man tried to run away, but he didn't get far before men in suits grabbed him and pushed him to the ground.
Attacks on politicians are increasing
The attack on the Danish head of government provoked sharp criticism from top EU politicians. EU Council President Charles Michel condemned the “cowardly act of aggression” in a statement at X. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a “despicable” act that contradicts everything “we believe in and what we fight for in Europe”.
EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola called the attack “outrageous” and stressed that violence has no place in politics. The incident “shocks everyone of us who are close to her,” wrote Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke in an online post. “Something like this must not happen in our beautiful, safe and free country.”
Recently, there have also been repeated attacks on politicians in Germany. In Dresden at the beginning of May, the Saxon SPD MEP Matthias Ecke was knocked down and seriously injured. Before that, the suspected perpetrators are said to have attacked a 28-year-old who was putting up election posters for the Green Party.
A few days later, Berlin's SPD economics senator Franziska Giffey was slightly injured in an attack with a bag. Last Saturday, CDU Bundestag member Roderich Kiesewetter was slightly injured in an attack at an election campaign stand in Aalen, Baden-Württemberg.
In mid-May, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and critically injured after a cabinet meeting in the small town of Handlova. He had to undergo two operations.
