The fighting in Gaza has also spread to the halls of the European Parliament, after a Swedish MEP and a staffer came to blows.
A physical altercation took place May 21 between a Left group staffer and Alice Teodorescu Måwe, an MEP from the European People’s Party.
They two reportedly differed over their opposing views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—with the staffer, whose name has not been released by EP authorities, expressing support for the Palestinians, while Måwe favouring the Israelis.
Both women accuse each other of instigating the fight, but security cameras indicate it was the Left group staffer who struck out first.
Måwe’s head of office, Natalie Tegelberg, told Brussels Signal the MEP was on her way to a meeting.
Seeing her, the staffer–who had been unknown to her– allegedly took photos and filmed her, without her consent, triggering an argument which led to the brawl.
“When Mrs Teodorescu Måwe asked the person to explain their behaviour, the individual stated that he/she intended to publish the images on social media to ‘tell the world what a terrible person’ Mrs Teodorescu Måwe is,” said Tegelberg.
“Mrs Teodorescu Måwe then asked if it was okay for her to photograph the staff member, who then became aggressive and violently tried to take Mrs Teodorescu Måwe’s phone from her hand,” she continued.
“Alice tried to hold onto her phone, and in the scuffle, the staff member began shouting for security and made baseless accusations of assault. Security personnel arrived quickly and calmed the situation,” she said.
The MEP reported the incident to the Parliament’s security department and requested additional protection from the Parliament for what she called a “terrifying situation”, after meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
“The entire incident was captured on the Parliament’s surveillance cameras. The situation is being investigated by the Parliament, and their initial assessment supports Alice’s version of events”, added Måwe’s head of office.
Måwe reportedly left Brussels after the scuffle, despite an important vote in the Parliament.
Liza-Maria Norlin, secretary of the Swedish Christian Democratic Party, wrote on Facebook Måwe was “in shock” over the incident and expressed disbelief such an event could occur within a democratic institution.
“When you work as an elected representative, you need to feel confident in exercising the mandate you have been given by the people. Attacking a politician damages our democracy and is completely unacceptable,” said Norlin
Ebba Busch, party leader and Sweden’s deputy prime minister, said she was “saddened” by the “harassment” against Måwe and likewise stressed it was a “very serious” incident because politicians should not be assaulted.
Marie Antman, head of office from the office employing the Left Group staffer, told Swedish press the incident was “exceptional” and “unacceptable”, but placed blame on the MEP.
“This morning, my colleague came into my office in a state of shock and showed me marks on their arm. It turned out that a Swedish parliamentarian had simply physically attacked my colleague. It’s extremely upsetting,” Antman told news agency TT.
“It was a situation where my employee was calling for help, so the guards came and calmed the situation down. We have also reported the incident to the President.”
According to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the Left group reported the incident to the police, accusing Måwe of assaulting an official of their group.
Delphine Colard, press spokesperson of the European Parliament, told Aftonbladet there was an incident and “the first assessment of the incident confirms the parliamentarian’s version.”
She added there was indeed video surveillance showing what happened.
In a reaction to Brussels Signal, the EP press services said that the situation “is being investigated as a matter of priority” and repeated that the initial assessment “confirms the MEP’s version of events.”
“There is a zero-tolerance policy for violence in the Parliament premises.
“The relevant services are mobilised, and assistance to the Member is also in place.”
Brussels Signal reached out to the spokesperson of the Left Group, but did not receive a reply at the time of publication.
