Driver under influence joins Olaf Scholz motorcade in safety breach – POLITICO

BERLIN — A man who joined German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s official convoy without permission was on drugs, according to media reports.

As Bild first reported, a driver entered Scholz’s motorcade on Wednesday evening as the leader headed for his government plane at Frankfurt airport after an appointment at the European Central Bank, and hugged him at the airport before bodyguards intervened.

On Friday, a government spokesperson confirmed the report saying that for Scholz, “it was not a big incident in the specific situation, just a surprisingly intimate embrace.”

The man, a 48-year-old Greek who lives in Hanau, had joined the motorcade – which was escorted by local police on motorbikes – around 10:30 p.m. in his private vehicle nearly 20 kilometers from the airport, according to media reports.

His car was able to pass through the airport security barrier with the convoy, despite having unauthorized license plates. When Scholz left his limo on the tarmac, the driver rushed over to the Chancellor, shook his hand, and hugged him. Security sources told Spiegel the man told Scholz he wanted to “play music” with him.

It was only then that the bodyguards and police became aware of the potentially threatening situation. A government spokesman said on Friday that “the Chancellor… did not feel threatened at any time”.

The man was able to get back in his car and smoke a cigarette before being arrested, according to the report. He offered no resistance and tested positive for the drug in a rapid test. The man told police he had ingested cocaine, Bild reported.

Charges have been filed against the man for trespassing.

A spokesman for the Federal Criminal Police Office, responsible for protecting the Chancellor, said: “No one was injured. The person was arrested without resistance by the Federal Police at Frankfurt Airport.