Emotion in Denmark after the attack on the Prime Minister in the street
The attack took place on Friday June 7 around 5:50 p.m. on Kultorvet, a pedestrian square in the center of Copenhagen. Mette Frederiksen walked, followed a few meters behind by bodyguards. A passerby came in the opposite direction who, instead of avoiding her, headed towards her. The sequence of events, which apparently was not filmed by anyone, was not yet very clear on Saturday morning.
According to two witnesses who recounted the scene to the tabloid BTthe unknown person, who acted with his bare hands, gave the manager “a powerful blow to the shoulder” who would have it “heavily jostled” without her “falls to the ground”. According to these young girls aged 17 and 18, the only ones to have given details, the man – “tall, thin and with blond hair” – said nothing at the time of the incident.
“Shocked”
“She looked at him and looked shocked. Almost offended.” Then the 46-year-old manager went to sit on a chair on a nearby café terrace, while the attacker was controlled a little further away, while he was shouting things that the two witnesses did not hear. included. The police, who confirmed his arrest, did not release his identity.
It was only on the morning of Saturday June 8, after 10 a.m., that the Prime Minister’s office sent details of his state of health to the press by email: “taken to hospital for examination”she suffers from“a slight cervical sprain”, relates thus Politics, center-left newspaper. The leader canceled her participation on Saturday in events planned as part of the campaign for the European elections, which will be held on Sunday in Denmark.
Shortly after the attack, messages of support for Mette Frederiksen and denunciation of the act began to appear on social networks. Both in Denmark – where many figures representing the entire political spectrum have said “shocked”as the summarizes the public radio and television website DR – as in various foreign capitals. With an emotion fueled by the absence, initially, of clear details on the nature of the attack and the state of health of the victim.
Thus the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, denounced on “a despicable act that goes against everything we believe in and fight for in Europe”.
In a bad position in the polls
The attack occurred when Mette Frederiksen had just left the head of the Danish social democratic list in the European elections, Christel Schaldemose, whom she had gone to support in a complicated electoral campaign for their party.
In its Saturday edition, Ekstra Bladet compared to “a total collapse” the fall of the rose party in the polls. According to the latest study, published on June 7 by Politiken and the chain TV2he would obtain 16.7% of the votes, “if legislative elections took place today”compared to 27.5% in November 2022.
The two other members of the coalition led by Mette Frederiksen are also struggling in the polls. The Liberals would obtain 8% of the vote and the Moderates (center right) 4.9%, compared to 13.3% and 9.3% respectively in the last legislative elections.
