On the way to Frankfurt Airport, an unknown man comes threateningly close to the Chancellor. © Kay Nietfeld/dpa
A man comes threateningly close to Chancellor Scholz on the way to Frankfurt Airport. Personal protection intervenes far too late.
Frankfurt – A motorist has joined the convoy of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) with his private car without authorization and hugged him after getting out. The bodyguards did not intervene in time. A spokeswoman for the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) told Bild: "No one was injured. The person was arrested without resistance by the Federal Police at Frankfurt Airport." A statement from the Federal Police was initially not available.
Security breakdown at Scholz: Man passes security barrier and hugs Chancellor
According to the Bild report, the incident occurred after Scholz was driven from the European Central Bank's Frankfurt headquarters to the airport on Wednesday (24 May). The man's car could, therefore, together with the Chancellor's convoy, despite the unregistered license plate, also pass the security barrier of the airport. When the chancellor left his limousine on the tarmac, the driver of the car rushed towards Scholz. The man shook hands with the Chancellor and hugged him.
Scholz let it happen, they say. It was only at this moment that the BKA bodyguards and police officers became aware of the potentially threatening situation and arrested the man. A government spokesman essentially confirmed the report at the request of the German Press Agency (dpa). Bild quoted Chancellery circles as saying: "For Olaf Scholz, it was not a major incident in the specific situation, just a surprisingly intimate embrace. In retrospect, it turns out what could have happened." Scholz's BKA team had admitted internally that such a situation should not happen again.
Unknown man hugs Scholz: "Such a failure is incomprehensible"
Former federal police officer Dieter Fox condemned the incident in Frankfurt in the strongest possible terms. "A foreign vehicle must never cut into a protective column. Such a car must be immediately pushed out. That's part of the basic training," he told Bild. The process will have to have consequences for the state police, BKA and Fraport. "Such a failure is incomprehensible. Thank God nothing happened." Scholz is not the only one who recently experienced a strange incident. The office of Economics Minister Robert Habeck also sounded the alarm because of a letter containing white powder. (bohy/dpa)
