A Facebook post from the Montenegrin party Slobodna Crna Gora describes its leader’s tour of Christiansborg with Danish People’s Party chair Morten Messerschmidt as an official meeting. Messerschmidt insists the visit was a private favor.
DR reported on August 6 that the post paints a different picture of Messerschmidt’s tour for Vladislav Dajković, founder and leader of Slobodna Crna Gora, or Free Montenegro. The tour took place Monday at Christiansborg, the seat of the Danish parliament.
According to DR, the party’s post describes the encounter as an official meeting focused on Europe’s political and security architecture and the need to preserve national sovereignty. The post also refers to growing resistance to what it calls the bureaucratic apparatus in Brussels, which it accuses of undermining traditional European values.
Messerschmidt rejects that description. Speaking on DR’s evening news broadcast, he said he had never met Dajković before and agreed to the tour during the summer recess at the request of a friend in Denmark. He described the visit as purely informal and comradely.
The DF chair also said that a more official political setting would have prompted a different kind of background check by the party. He acknowledged that no such check was carried out, and said he did not know who Dajković was. Messerschmidt had already said earlier the same day that he should have been more careful.
Other outlets on the visit
BT notes that Dajković has publicly called Slobodna Crna Gora Montenegro’s only pro-Russian and anti-NATO party. BT also reports that Dajković posted a video from Christiansborg on Instagram, in which Messerschmidt encourages him to win as they part. Messerschmidt described the visit to BT as a friendly, tourist-like occasion.
Ekstra Bladet reports that several politicians are now demanding an apology from the DF leader. The paper also cites Dajković describing the meeting as official to the Montenegrin outlet Borba.me.
In a written comment to Berlingske, Dajković said the meeting came about through a mutual acquaintance. He said the two did not discuss Russia or Vladimir Putin, and that he had not expected to become the star of the day in Danish media.
Dajković further told Berlingske that Danish ministers, including the defense minister and the foreign minister, have linked his Copenhagen visit to Putin. He called that claim absurd and completely untrue. Berlingske has also reported that criticism of the meeting is spreading within the blue bloc.
Messerschmidt says that despite Dajković’s pro-Russian views, he made clear during the visit that he considers Russia’s war of aggression unacceptable and supports Ukraine’s fight for freedom. His conclusion after the case, as stated to DR, is that he is done giving tours.
