- author, George Wright
- stock, BBC News
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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was reportedly shocked and suffered whiplash after being attacked by a man while walking in central Copenhagen.
The attack happened when a man walked up to a politician and assaulted him in a square in the city’s old town.
The assailant was soon arrested, but no motive has yet been identified.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said it was a “disgraceful act against everything we believe in and fight for in Europe”.
Two witnesses – Mary Adrian and Anna Ravn – described the Copenhagen attack to local newspaper BT: “A man came in the opposite direction and pushed her hard on the shoulder, causing her to fall on her side.”
They said that despite it being a “strong push”, the Prime Minister did not hit the ground and sat down at a nearby cafe to recuperate.
Mette Frederiksen’s office said the incident left the politician “shocked” and that he suffered “minor whiplash”.
A 39-year-old man is scheduled to appear in a Fredericksburg court Saturday afternoon in connection with the incident.
The attack comes two days before Denmark votes in EU elections.
Ms Frederiksen, head of Denmark’s Social Democratic Party, had earlier attended a European election event with her party’s front-runner Kristal Schaldemos.
The Social Democratic Party is the largest party in Denmark’s coalition government. They still lead in the polls, but their support has dropped significantly in recent months.
Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke told X: “Mette is naturally shocked by the attack. I must say that it has shaken everyone close to her.”
He said he was “outraged” at EU President Charles Michael X.
He said that he strongly condemns this cowardly act of aggression.
Ms Frederiksen, 46, became prime minister in 2019 after taking over as head of the centre-left Social Democratic Party four years earlier. With this, he became the youngest Prime Minister in the history of Denmark.
Mr Trump called her a “bad guy” after he dismissed the suggestion of such a land deal as “absurd”.
