Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen – ANSA
The Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was hit on Friday evening by a man, who was immediately arrested, in a square in Copenhagen, Kultorvet. The prime minister’s office told AFP that Frederiksen was “shocked by the serious accident” but provided no further details. The attack occurred at the end of a day in which the prime minister had also supported the Social Democratic EU candidate Christel Schaldemose. Mette Frederiksen, 46, is the leader of the Danish Social Democratic Party, which has led a centre-left coalition since June 2019.
Two witnesses told the newspaper BT that they had seen Frederiksen arrive in the square while they were sitting near a fountain, just before 6pm. “A man passed in the opposite direction and gave her a strong push on the shoulder, making her fall to the side”, said the two women to the newspaper. Adding that although it was a “strong push”, Frederiksen did not fall to the ground, and they then described the man as tall and slender. The attacker tried to escape quickly but was immediately grabbed and pushed to the ground by men in suits. Copenhagen police confirmed that an accident had occurred, but did not provide further details.
European Council President Charles Michel and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola criticized the attack on Frederiksen. Metsola urged the head of the Danish government to “hold on”, adding in a post on X that “violence has no place in politics”. Michel in turn said he was “outraged by the attack”. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also condemned what she called a “despicable act that goes against everything we believe in and fight for in Europe”, in a statement on social. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni she commented on the incident as follows: «I am disturbed by the news of the attack on Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
An intolerable act of violence that represents an attack on the heart of democratic values. My solidarity goes to my colleague Mette.” The reaction was also firm Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani: «I strongly condemn the attack suffered this evening in Copenhagen by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. It is an act of violence that goes against everything we believe in and fight for in Europe. I express solidarity with the government and the population of Denmark”. So on X the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani after the attack on the Danish Prime Minister”.
And last night also the secretary of the Democratic Party Elly Schlein in a note wanted to express her solidarity for the terrible event that occurred in Denmark: «Shocked and worried about the attack suffered by Mette Frederiksen. All my closeness and solidarity to her. There has long been a climate of political hatred that is growing and is fueled by the entrepreneurs of fear. All democratic forces have the duty to be united in the face of political violence.”
On the same wavelength is the opinion of FrSpanish rower Pedro Sanchez who expressed his “support and that of the Spanish citizens” to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen for the attack suffered this evening in Copenhagen, in a message on X. “Mette Frederiksen is a committed leader, a magnificent person and a great friend.” wrote Sanchez. “The attack she suffered tonight is an attack against all of us who believe in a Europe of freedom, tolerance and peace”, noted the prime minister. “I sent her all my support and that of the Spanish citizens in these difficult moments,” the socialist leader said. “Violence has no place in the EU,” he concluded in the message.
Friday’s attack is nothing new in the European election campaign
The attack on the Danish Prime Minister was not an isolated case in this electoral campaign for the renewal of the European Parliament. Only in the months preceding the European vote have there been attacks in Germany following the attack on Slovakian Prime Minister Fico. In Germany, there was an attack on the MEP of the SPD Matthias Ecke, on some Green activists, on the candidate for the municipal elections in Mannheim Heinrich Koch of the AfD and the attack on an anti-Islam demonstration in the same city, in which he remained a policeman killed. In Slovakia the very serious attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico, at which a man fired shots which left him in danger of his life for days.
