Mette Frederiksen: I have no doubt that it was the prime minister who struck first.

After being mugged by a man at Kultorvet in Copenhagen on a Friday evening, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) has had to take some time to recover from the shock and spend time with her family.

She spoke about this in her first interview since the incident, which prevented her from participating in the final stretch of the EP election or the Social Democrats' election festival.

"I'm not quite myself yet, and I'm not quite at the top," Mette Frederiksen said.

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A Polish man struck with a knuckle

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> "It was a big shock. In that situation, one needs some time with one's family and those close to them," Mette Frederiksen (S), prime minister.

A 39-year-old Polish man has been charged with assaulting a public official ().

According to the police, the man, who was heavily intoxicated at the time of the incident, struck the prime minister on the right upper arm with a knuckle.

Mette Frederiksen says that it is the psychological aftermath that has kept her away from public life in the past few days.

"I needed peace. I haven't had that in many years, and it's because it weighed a little heavier and a little deeper on me," she said.

"It was a big shock. In that situation, one needs some time with one's family and those close to them," Mette Frederiksen said.

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Describe the assault as 'intimidating'

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The assault came after a long period of intense debate and personal attacks, the prime minister explained.

"For my part, it's also a build-up of many other things, so threats over a long period and a very aggressive tone in the public sphere, which has become worse," she said.

She said that especially after the Gaza conflict, she had experienced many insults and people behaving "very aggressively" in the public sphere.

"Maybe it was the straw that broke the camel's back," Mette Frederiksen said.

She described the assault as "boundary-crossing" and "intimidating."

"There's something unsettling and surprising about it," she said.

> "I would rather have Denmark, where a prime minister can cycle to work without fear."

> Mette Frederiksen (S), prime minister

Although there was no apparent political motive or reason behind the assault, the prime minister is not in doubt that the suspect recognized her as prime minister.

"I'm not in doubt that it was the prime minister that the perpetrator attacked," she said.

"I am, of course, Mette in my core, but in these years, I am also the prime minister of our country, and that position and institution in our society cannot be attacked, just like the police cannot be attacked," she said.

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'There's something brewing in our society'

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The assault also raises questions about how she will navigate larger gatherings in the future, she said.

She sees the assault as another sign that the boundaries for what politicians are exposed to have shifted significantly in recent years.

"There's something brewing in our society in these years. I can feel it among my colleagues as well. We'll have to find ways to deal with more than we're used to," she said.

The assault has already led to some places where politicians no longer venture.

"I'm so disappointed because we've always been so proud of a country where the prime minister can cycle to work and we meet in the grocery store," she said.

"Every time something like this happens, there's a little more protection, we become a little more cautious, or there's a little more distance," she said.

"I would rather have Denmark, where a prime minister can cycle to work without fear."

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