Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s office said she was “shocked” after being attacked on a street in Copenhagen.
The assault took place in a square in the city center, where a man approached her and beat her.
The attacker was arrested.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described what happened as “a despicable act that goes against everything we believe in and fight for in Europe.”
The Prime Minister’s office said in a statement, without providing further details: “Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was beaten on Friday evening in Kulturvet in Copenhagen by a man who was later arrested. The Prime Minister was shocked by the incident,” without providing further details.
Police said they had arrested a man and were investigating the incident, but declined to say more.
No word on motive yet.
Two witnesses, Marie Adrian and Anna Raven, told local newspaper BT that they witnessed the attack.
The two women told the newspaper: “A man came in the opposite direction and hit her hard on the shoulder, causing her to fall to the side.”
They said that although it was a “strong push”, the Prime Minister did not fall to the ground.
They added that she then sat in a café.
The attack comes two days before Denmark votes in the European Union elections.
Frederiksen, leader of the Social Democratic Party in Denmark, had previously participated in a European election event with her party’s main candidate, Christel Schaldmus, according to the Danish TV2 channel.
The Social Democratic Party is the largest party in the coalition government in Denmark. They still lead in opinion polls, but their support has declined significantly in recent months.
Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Channel X: “Mette is naturally shocked by the attack. I must say it shakes all of us close to her.”
EU President Charles Michel said on Channel X that he was “angry”.
“I strongly condemn this cowardly act of aggression,” he said.
The attack comes less than a month later Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot several times while receiving supporters. He survived and has since undergone surgery.
Frederiksen, 46, became prime minister in 2019 after taking over as leader of the centre-left Social Democrats four years earlier. This made her the youngest prime minister in Danish history.
Shortly after, I became… Embroiled in a dispute with then-President Donald Trump After his idea for the United States to buy Greenland was rejected.
Trump called her “bad” after she rejected this land deal proposal as “ridiculous.”
In 2022, Ms Frederiksen was harshly criticized by the committee Investigating her government’s decision to cull millions of mink during the Covid pandemic.
