Man arrested for hugging German chancellor without permission

A breach in the security of the German Chancellor? On Wednesday evening, when Olaf Scholz had just stepped onto the runway of Frankfurt Airport with his government escort, the man entered the zone, which, however, is forbidden to him, passing police radar. When the chancellor got out of the car, a man in his fifties approached him, shook his hand and hugged him. He was then arrested by the security service and the prosecutor’s office launched an investigation.

“People say hello to me and greet me, it’s not something that impresses me, it’s completely normal, and I don’t consider this situation dramatic,” Olaf Scholz relativized Friday during a press conference during a visit to Tallinn in Estonia. “The police are doing a good job, I feel safe,” he tried to reassure.

“This incident shouldn’t happen”

His own Home Secretary, Nancy Feiser, was less diplomatic about the work of the Chancellor’s policing and bodyguards. “This incident should not happen,” she told reporters on Friday during the trip. “Stakeholders will now study very accurately what happened, what mistakes were made so that this does not happen again in the future,” she added.

The Chancellor was returning from an event at the European Central Bank (ECB) when the incident occurred. The police really did not see the man who followed the convoy without permission. According to Der Spiegel magazine, the perpetrator appeared to be under the influence of drugs.