After criticism from the Minister of Defense and several colleagues from the state parliament for touring the legislative house building with the president of Free Montenegro Vladislav Dajković, the president of the Danish People's Party (DF), Morten Messerschmitt, said that in the future he will be more careful in choosing who he shows Christiansborg Palace to.
He also points out that he has never heard of Dajković or his party, and that he does not see the event as a political meeting, but rather as more like a tourist visit.
Free Montenegro announced three days ago that Dajković held an official meeting with Messerschmitt and that the politician expressed "deep respect for Free Montenegro's political struggle to preserve identity, religion and traditional family values."
That statement was removed from the party's Facebook page today, after the text was published on the Vijesti portal.
Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen is the seat of all three branches of government in Denmark - it houses the national parliament, the prime minister's office and the Supreme Court.
The Danish public broadcaster (DR) writes on its website that Messerschmitt is now giving in after, according to TV 2, he caused a storm of reactions by showing parliament to "right-wing politician" Dajković on Monday.
"I have to be more careful when deciding who to show Kristiansborg to," he admitted to DR.
Dajković, as the text says, is known in Montenegro for his pro-Russian stance and opposition to NATO. As DR reminds us, he posted a video on Instagram showing Messerschmitt showing him Kristiansand, after which the DF president, at the end of the video, extends his hand and says "go win".
Minister of Defense Jeppe Brus from the Social Democratic Party, SF foreign policy spokesman Carsten Henge, and head of the Liberal Alliance parliamentary group Ole Birk Olesen criticized for TV 2 Messerschmitt's decision to show Dajković the parliament, as well as his "go win" comment.
"While we are fighting to strengthen NATO, he is supporting and wishing victory to a man who is doing exactly the opposite, glorifying Russia, trying to destroy NATO and bring about regime change in Montenegro, a NATO member state. I believe that this is a bad assessment," the Minister of Defense said, among other things.
Messerschmitt told DR that the tour with Dajković was "exclusively private in nature" and that it was organized because their mutual acquaintance from Denmark asked him if he could show Dajković Christiansborg while the politician was on vacation in that country.
When asked why he told him "go win", Messerschmitt said that it was a purely friendly gesture, taken out of context.
"It's similar to a situation when there's an election campaign in Denmark and you meet someone, regardless of which party they belong to, and wish them luck in the rest of the campaign. Presenting this as some kind of big political meeting is very far from how I remember the tour, which was actually more like a tourist visit."
When asked what he thought about Dajković's pro-Russian orientation, Messerschmitt replied that he had "not been familiar with it at all."
"I had never met him before and had never heard of him or his party. It was not a topic of conversation at all when I was showing him around Christiansborg."
According to Messerschmitt, he and Dajković discussed developments in the European Union, migration and NATO. He claims that he explained why he and most Danish citizens are strong supporters of the defense alliance.
When asked how he now views the visit after all this, he said he thinks he needs to be more careful when deciding who to show Christiansborg to, "if this can become such a big story."
"It is clear that if showing my office and the plenary hall of parliament can be presented almost as a foreign policy summit, in the future I need to think more carefully and perhaps refuse when friends ask me to show the parliament to people I don't know."
The Danish public service asked Messerschmitt if he should not have done a more detailed check on the political leader from Montenegro who was visiting him, who is "a well-known figure in that part of the world."
"It's entirely possible. When a friend asked me if I wanted to show a local Montenegrin politician the parliament, I didn't think it could be used for some big political story. But this certainly shows that in the future I need to consider much more carefully who I guide."
This is not the first time, DR reminds us, that Messerschmitt has been criticized for his assessment. He also received criticism when he spoke at a conference in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, in January last year.
Free Montenegro: Expressed deep respect for the political struggle of our party
Slobodna Crna Gora announced in a statement dated August 3, which was removed from the party's Facebook page today, that Dajković held an official meeting with "prominent European sovereigntist" Messerschmitt.
They said that the topic of the meeting was the current political and security architecture of Europe, the necessity of preserving national sovereignty, as well as the "increasingly vocal resistance to the alienated bureaucratic apparatus" in Brussels, which "systematically threatens the traditional values of historical European peoples."
They said that the Danish People's Party represents "one of the most significant national-conservative and sovereignist political forces in Scandinavia."
"This party is known throughout Europe for its uncompromising Euroscepticism, strong opposition to the centralization of power in EU institutions, and advocacy for strict protection of state borders. Their policy is based on a strong defense of national identity, culture, and Christian tradition from the consequences of globalization, which positions them as a natural ally of all patriotic movements on the continent," Dajković's party stated.
They said that Messerschmitt, "during a substantive conversation," expressed "great understanding for the specific position of the Serbian people in the Balkans," as well as "deep respect for the political struggle of a Free Montenegro to preserve identity, religion, and traditional family values."
"A Dane against the policies of the European Union? For many in the Balkans who blindly believe in the Brussels utopia, this sounds unreal, but it is very real. It was an exceptional honor for me to exchange views with Mr. Messerschmitt, a leader who comes from one of the most developed countries in Europe, and who perfectly clearly sees the perniciousness of political dictates and the imposition of decisions outside the borders of his own country. His political experience confirms to us that the European Union has long ceased to be a community of equal peoples, but rather a mechanism for the quiet erasure of national identities and state sovereignty," said Dajković.
"It is particularly encouraging that political leaders from northern Europe show such understanding for the circumstances in our region. Mr. Messerschmitt not only knows our history, but also very precisely recognizes the injustices that have been continuously inflicted on our people for decades. Our fight to preserve family and tradition is not just a local issue, but part of a broader European movement to awaken national consciousness. When someone from the heart of the European Union extends a hand of understanding to you for these ideals, then you know that you are on the right path. Thank you for your sincere support, Morten, brother 'Serb', because true friends are recognized when they bravely and openly defend the truth," concluded the president of Free Montenegro.
The party said that they will continue to build strong international relations with parties and leaders across the continent who "share the idea of a Europe of sovereign nations", proving that they have more and more allies in the political struggle for a "free, dignified and traditional Montenegro".
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