The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, was attacked this Friday in the middle of the street in a central square in the center of the capital, Copenhagen, by a man who has already been arrested, according to the Police. The attack occurred in Kultorvet Square, although at the moment it is unknown if Frederiksen has been injured. The Copenhagen Police have arrested the attacker and have started an investigation, without giving more details.
Several Danish media suggest that the prime minister was in the square for personal reasons. Frederiksen had attended several campaign events for the European elections with the Social Democratic candidate, Christel Schaldemose. This incident, which has been condemned by numerous European leaders, occurs in the run-up to the European elections, which will be held on Sunday in Denmark. The Social Democratic Party chaired by Frederiksen aspires to win.
“Mette is naturally surprised by the attack. I must say that it shakes all of us who are close to her. Something like this should not happen in our beautiful, safe and free country,” said Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke in their social networks. “Regardless of the political disagreements, the electoral campaign, etc., this is ugly and unacceptable. Let’s show that Denmark is much better,” added the aforementioned minister, who has called for citizen responsibility.
The Minister of Finance, Nicolai Wammen, has described the attack on Frederiksen in the street as “terrible”. “Deeply serious and reprehensible. Warm thoughts for Mette and her family,” he said in a message on the social network X. Another of those who has spoken out on the matter is the Minister of Culture, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, who has stressed that “any attack on an elected politician is an attack on all democracy.”
For his part, Deputy Prime Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has made it clear that “Denmark is not like that.” For her part, the leader of the opposition Denmark Democrats, Inger Stojberg, has pointed out that “democracy is a vulnerable dimension if we do not take good care of it.” “It is completely reprehensible to resort to violence,” she said on the aforementioned social network.
The reactions have not only been at the national level. The Finnish Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo, has been “deeply shocked” by the attack. “I strongly condemn any form of violence against democratically elected leaders in our free societies,” he has stated. Likewise, the office of the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, has indicated in a statement published on the social network X that “an attack on a democratically elected leader is also an attack on our democracy.”
The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has also spoken out, saying on the aforementioned social network that the news is “appalling.” “Violence has no place in politics. Stay strong, Mette,” she stressed. The president of the European Commission and candidate of the European People’s Party (EPP) has also joined in: “I condemn this despicable act that goes against everything we believe in and fight for in Europe,” she declared.