European leaders condemn attack on Denmark’s prime minister
European leaders are continuing to speak out after Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, was hit by a man on Friday evening.
France’s Emmanuel Macron called the attack “unacceptable.”
Estonia’s Kaja Kallas said she was “deeply shocked.”
L’agression dont la Première ministre danoise a été la cible est inadmissible. Je condamne fermement cet acte et adresse à Mette Frederiksen mes vœux de prompt rétablissement.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 8, 2024
Deeply shocked by the attack against @statsmin on her way home in Copenhagen.
Dearest Mette, thinking of you and sending my best wishes.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 8, 2024
Key events
Stephen, a reader from Malta, writes in:
I voted around 10am this morning in the beautiful seaside town of St Paul’s Bay (see attached photos) in European and local council elections in my home country of Malta, the smallest country of the EU. There was a constant stream of people voting at my local school but luckily very few queues up to now.
It feels strangely exciting to vote in such a huge election for a citizen of a tiny country like Malta. I personally gave priority to those candidates who voiced support for the recognition of the state of Palestine. Beautiful weather here, bright sunshine and intensely blue summer skies.
People here are voting about Malta’s future role and participation in the EU’s common defence policy and the recent hospital corruption scandal.
European parliament president votes in Malta
Roberta Metsola has cast her ballot in Malta.
She is a candidate for Malta’s Nationalist party, part of the centre-right European People’s party.
“Use your vote or others will decide for you,” she said.
Fico votes at Bratislava hospital
Robert Fico, Slovakia’s prime minister who was shot and seriously injured in May, cast his vote at a hospital in Bratislava.
Fico, a populist politician who is closely allied with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and has promoted a foreign policy more friendly toward Russia, wrote on social media:
I voted in the hospital because these elections are also important. It is necessary to vote for MEPs who will support peace initiatives and not the continuation of war.
Consent of western countries given to Ukraine to use western weapons to attack targets on Russian territory is just a proof that big western democracies do not want peace, but an escalation of tensions with the Russian Federation, which will surely happen.
As a prime minister of the Slovak Republic, I will not drag Slovakia into any similar military adventures and within our small Slovak possibilities, I will do everything possible so that peace gets priority over war.
Ľudovít Ódor, lead candidate for Progressive Slovakia, has cast his vote.
Ódor is a former deputy governor of Slovakia’s national bank who briefly served as Slovakia’s prime minister last year at the helm of a technocrat government. He comes from Slovakia’s Hungarian-speaking minority.
“Today’s election is more important than you think,” he wrote on social media, urging people to vote for a “pro-European Slovakia.”
European leaders condemn attack on Denmark’s prime minister
European leaders are continuing to speak out after Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, was hit by a man on Friday evening.
France’s Emmanuel Macron called the attack “unacceptable.”
Estonia’s Kaja Kallas said she was “deeply shocked.”
L’agression dont la Première ministre danoise a été la cible est inadmissible. Je condamne fermement cet acte et adresse à Mette Frederiksen mes vœux de prompt rétablissement.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 8, 2024
Deeply shocked by the attack against @statsmin on her way home in Copenhagen.
Dearest Mette, thinking of you and sending my best wishes.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 8, 2024
The Greens group is encouraging voters to head to the polls… with the Simpsons.
We’d like to hear from you!
If you’re voting today: any long lines? What issues impacted your voting choice most?
If you’re voting tomorrow: any interesting last-minute campaigning in your country?
Send your thoughts to [email protected].
What are Latvian voters talking about?
Earlier this week on the blog, we heard from Sandra Kalniete, a candidate for Latvia’s Unity party, who said that “security issues are the absolute priority.”
Voters in Latvia are focused on strengthening defence and military capabilities as well as bolstering border security, she said, adding that discussions are “completely different from the previous campaign” due to Russia’s war against Ukraine and Moscow’s belligerent rhetoric.
By the time polling stations opened in Latvia at 8am local time today, 8.37% of eligible voters already cast their ballots in advance voting, the country’s public broadcaster reported.
This figure is lower than the 11% who voted early in the 2019 election.
Man arrested after attacking Denmark’s prime minister
Late yesterday, news broke that a man was arrested after attacking Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, in central Copenhagen.
The prime minister’s office said in a statement that Frederiksen was “shocked by the incident.”
“Prime minister Mette Frederiksen was hit by a man Friday evening on Kultorvet in Copenhagen. The man was subsequently arrested,” the statement said.
Police in the Danish capital said the incident had taken place at Kultorvet, a pedestrianised square in the centre of the city.
“We have made an arrest in the case, which we are now investigating. We currently have no further comments or observations on the matter,” the police said on X.
The incident came after several attacks on politicians in different parts of Europe over the past weeks.
Read the story here.
Voters to go to polls in five European countries
Voting is underway in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Malta and Slovakia.
Polling stations will open at 3pm in Italy, where voting will continue tomorrow as well.
Welcome back to the EU elections blog
Good morning and welcome back to the blog.
It’s the third day of voting in the European elections. Today voters in Slovakia, Latvia and Malta go to the polls. Polls are open for a second day in the Czech Republic. And Italians are starting the first of their two days of voting.
