Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was assaulted in central Copenhagen by a 39-year-old man, causing her to suffer minor whiplash. She was rushed to the hospital for a check-up but was unharmed. The suspect, a Polish citizen residing in Denmark since 2019, was arrested and appeared in a pre-trial custody hearing where he was ordered to be jailed pending further investigation. The man is charged with violence against a person in public service and police believe he may have been under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the incident.
The details of the assault are still unclear, but witnesses reported seeing the man forcefully approaching Frederiksen and pushing her hard on the shoulder as she passed through Kultorvet Square in Copenhagen. Despite the attack, she did not fall down, and security personnel quickly intervened to apprehend the assailant. Politicians both in Denmark and abroad condemned the assault, with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg calling it a shocking event. Prime Ministers from Sweden and Finland also expressed their support for Frederiksen and denounced the act of violence against a democratically elected leader.
The assault on Frederiksen comes at a time when European Union parliamentary elections are underway in Denmark and the rest of the bloc. The incident was not linked to any campaign event, but violence against politicians has become a concerning issue leading up to the elections. In the past, there have been instances of attacks on political figures during campaign events, including a recent incident in Germany where a candidate was beaten and injured. The European Council President Charles Michel condemned the assault on Frederiksen as a cowardly act of aggression that undermines the values of freedom and democracy.
Mette Frederiksen, who has been Prime Minister since 2019, has been praised for her leadership during the global COVID-19 pandemic and controversial decisions such as the mass culling of Denmark’s mink population to prevent the spread of the virus. She is the leader of the Social Democratic Party in Denmark. Assaults on politicians in Denmark are rare, with the last major incident involving activists throwing red paint at former Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in 2003. The assault on Frederiksen has sparked concerns about the safety of elected officials and the need to protect democracy in the face of such violent acts.
