Frederickson was checked out at the hospital after the attack. “The blow caused minor whiplash,” his office said Saturday. She was otherwise fine but shaken by the incident. Frederickson’s participation in several events on Saturday was cancelled.
Police have arrested the attacker and will produce him in court on Saturday. The background of the crime is unclear. Neither the police nor the Prime Minister’s Office have yet commented on the attacker’s motive or whether he was armed.
In shock
It was a strong blow, but Frederickson did not fall to the ground, witnesses said. The Danish head of government then sat down at a nearby cafe. The man tried to run away. But he doesn’t get far before the men in the suits grab him and push him to the ground.
Frederickson was shocked by the attack, his office said. The 46-year-old is also the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Denmark. European elections will be held in Denmark on Sunday. Frederiksen has supported the campaign of Christel Scaldemose, the Social Democrats’ top candidate, in recent days, including Friday. However, Schaldemos told Danish news agency Ritsa that the attack on Frederiksen did not occur in this context.
Figo dials the hospital
Ahead of EU-wide elections, attacks on politicians in other countries have also taken place. In mid-May, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was seriously injured in an assassination attempt. He announced on Facebook on Saturday that he had voted in the European elections at the hospital. The 59-year-old posted a photo of himself using crutches to place his ballot in a mobile ballot box.
There have been repeated attacks on politicians in Germany recently. In Dresden in early May, Saxon SPD MEP Matthias Ecke was seriously injured in a fall. The accused allegedly assaulted a 28-year-old man who had earlier put up election posters for the Green Party. Berlin’s Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Kiffi was slightly injured in an attack a few days later. On Saturday last week, CDU Bundestag member Roderich Kiesewetter was slightly injured in an attack at a campaign station in Aalen, Baden-Württemberg.
Horror and concern for democracy
Politicians from several countries also condemned Friday’s attack. Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) urged condemnation of the attack on Frederiksen: “Violence endangers democracy!”
“The attack on the Prime Minister of Denmark is intolerable. “I strongly condemn this act and wish Mette Frederiksen a speedy recovery,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on X (Twitter).
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote: “I condemn this despicable act, which goes against everything we believe in and fight for in Europe. I wish you strength and courage – I know you have plenty of both.”
Frederiksen has been the head of the Danish government for five years. In 2019 he was elected as the youngest Prime Minister in the country’s history. In the elections held in November 2022, the Social Democratic Party was again the strongest force.
