Danish PM to skip election events after assault

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who was attacked in downtown Copenhagen on Friday, has canceled her remaining campaign events as voters head to the polls for European Parliament elections.

Frederiksen was “assaulted and beaten” by a man at Kultorvet Square after she took part in a rally with the lead candidate from her Social Democrats party, Christel Schaldemose. The encounter left the Prime Minister with “light whiplash,” but otherwise “in good condition,” according to her office.

Nevertheless, Frederiksen canceled events in the municipalities of Herlev and Rodovre in the broader Copenhagen area, as well as in the cities of Roskilde, Holbek, and Slagelse.

Meanwhile, Copenhagen police have identified the suspect as a 39-year-old Polish man who has been placed in custody until June 20. At a court hearing, the man pleaded not guilty, with police suggesting that he was probably under the influence of both drugs and alcohol at the time of the attack, which they described as “an isolated, spontaneous act.”

The police also noted that “at present, it is not our guiding hypothesis that the incident was politically motivated.”

The European Parliament election is being held across the EU between June 6 and 9, with the vote in Denmark taking place on Sunday. Frederiksen’s Social Democrats appear to be leading the race, according to Politico’s polling tracker.

The assault on Frederiksen came after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot several times in mid-May as he was greeting his supporters in the central part of the country, with the assailant arrested on the scene. 

The culprit, identified as 71-year-old Juraj C., strongly disagreed with some of Fico’s policies, including the decision to stop arms shipments to Ukraine. Fico was recently released from the hospital, saying, “It will be a small miracle if I return to work in several weeks.”

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