Man assaults Danish PM Mette Frederiksen on Copenhagen street

Beating follows a spate of attacks on European politicians ahead of the EU election on Sunday.

A man has assaulted and beaten Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images

A man attacked Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on a street in Copenhagen Friday, just two days before the European election. 

The Social Democrat leader was “shocked” by the incident, but eyewitnesses said she was not visibly injured, according to local media.

A 39-year-old man has been arrested in the assault and will face a hearing in the Copenhagen City Court on Saturday, the Copenhagen police said in a statement. No further details were given.

The assault comes before Danes head to the polls in the European Parliament election on Sunday, at a time of heightened tension following a spate of attacks on politicians across Europe. 

Last month, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times in an attempted assassination. Social Democrat MEP Matthias Ecke was beaten up while campaigning in Germany. 

A politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany party was stabbed this week by a suspect wielding a box cutter in Mannheim in the country’s southwest, according to police.

The attack on Frederiksen drew shock and condemnation from her political allies and rivals alike. 

“Tonight’s assault on the Danish Prime Minister is appalling,” Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, posted on X. “Violence has no place in politics. Keep strong, Mette!”

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, also expressed her shock and sympathy. “I was so shocked at the news of you being assaulted tonight,” von der Leyen wrote in a post on X. “I condemn this despicable act which goes against everything we believe and fight for in Europe. I wish you strength and courage — I know you have plenty of both.”

European Council President Charles Michel said he was “outraged” by the assault. “I strongly condemn this cowardly act of aggression,” Michel said on X.

Denmark’s Social Democrat Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke said the attack on his party leader had shaken everyone close to her. “We all have a responsibility to look after each other and the values our country is built on,” he wrote on X. 

Morten Løkkegaard, who is running as MEP for the center-right Liberal Party in Sunday’s election, posted on the same platform that it was crucial for democracy that debate can be held regardless of political viewpoint. 

“Violence and assault undermine the public debate and thus our democracy,” he said. 

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was among international leaders to express his concern for Frederiksen. “Tonight my thoughts and those of my family are with her,” he wrote on X. 

Frederiksen, who has led Denmark since 2019, is a dominant figure on the Danish political scene. She has built a reputation as a deft operator who can build alliances across political divides and has been named as a possible future candidate for the post of European Council president.

Her party is ahead in the latest polling ahead of Sunday’s election. 

This story has been updated.