Emmanuel Thomas, DPA, Friday, May 26, 2023
FRANKFURT – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was calm after being unexpectedly hugged by someone who broke through his security at Frankfurt Airport earlier this week, his spokesperson said on Friday.
“The Chancellor also did not feel threatened at any time,” said deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner.
He noted that the encounter and the hug had not been planned by Scholz. “From that point of view, it was surprising for him, but in the concrete situation it was not a major incident.”
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that questions had arisen that would have to be clarified.
In the incident, a motorist joined the chancellor’s convoy in his private car without authorization on Wednesday.
After getting out of the car, he approached Scholz, shook his hand and embraced him.
Only then did the chancellor’s bodyguards become aware of the potentially threatening situation.
Police then arrested the man who did not resist, at Frankfurt Airport.
A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry described Wednesday’s incident as “naturally unacceptable.”
It was “not entirely obvious at first glance where the mistake lies,” the ministry said, noting that the situation was being looked into.
The incident compromised security measures put in place by the state police, federal police and the Federal Criminal Police Office. “The aim of the reappraisal is, of course, to ensure that such an event cannot happen again,” it said.
