COPENHAGEN — Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was left shocked and suffering from whiplash after being struck by a man while walking in the center of Copenhagen.

The assault occurred in a square in the city's old town when a man approached the politician and hit her. The attacker was swiftly arrested, but the motive remains unknown.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attack, calling it a "despicable act, which goes against everything we believe in and fight for in Europe."

This incident follows an attack on Slovak PM Robert Fico less than a month ago, where he was shot multiple times while greeting supporters. He survived and has since undergone surgery.

Two witnesses, Marie Adrian and Anna Ravn, described the Copenhagen assault to the local newspaper BT: "A man came by in the opposite direction and gave her a hard shove on the shoulder, causing her to fall to the side." They added that while it was a "strong push," the prime minister did not hit the ground and sat down at a nearby café to recover.

Frederiksen's office reported that she was "shocked" and suffering from "minor whiplash." A 39-year-old man is due to appear at a hearing at the Frederiksberg Courthouse on Saturday afternoon in connection with the incident.

The attack comes just two days before Denmark votes in the EU election. Frederiksen, leader of Denmark's Social Democrats, had earlier participated in a European election event with her party's lead candidate Christel Schaldemose.

The Social Democrats, Denmark's largest party in the coalition government, still lead the polls despite a decline in support in recent months.

Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke expressed his concern on X: "Mette is naturally shocked by the attack. I must say that it shakes all of us who are close to her."

EU chief Charles Michel also condemned the attack on X, describing it as a "cowardly act of aggression."

Mette Frederiksen, 46, became prime minister in 2019, making her the youngest prime minister in Danish history. She had previously taken over as leader of the center-left Social Democrats four years earlier.

Frederiksen has faced various political challenges, including a spat with then-President Donald Trump in 2019 after she dismissed his suggestion of the US buying Greenland as "absurd," prompting Trump to call her "nasty."

In 2022, she faced heavy criticism from a commission investigating her government's decision to cull millions of mink during the Covid pandemic. — BBC