Knifeman is grabbed at Finnish prime minister's election rally
Finnish secret service agents caught a man with a knife at an election rally held by Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen before municipal elections in five days.
The prime minister, 41, was not harmed in the incident in Turku, western Finland, and the perpetrator was taken into custody, the government said in a statement.
"Security guards have apprehended a person who brought a blade to the prime minister's election event in Turku," according to the statement. "The prime minister was unharmed."
Katainen has led Finland since June last year as head of a six-party coalition. He has cut spending and raised taxes to trim deficits as Europe's debt crisis weighs on growth and unemployment, while also taking the lead in trying to overcome scepticism at home over bailing out fellow eurozone members.
Robert Seger, a Finnish newspaper photographer who witnessed the incident, said the man dropped to his knees in front of Katainen, holding a knife, but did not attack him.
"He was trying to get Katainen's attention," Seger said.
The government's security chief, Timo Harkonen, told the Finnish broadcaster YLE that the prime minister's security contingent "prevented it from becoming a dangerous situation."
The Finnish news agency STT said police apprehended the man, who was behaving in a confused manner.
