Morten Messerschmidt has expressed regret over meeting a pro-Russian and anti-NATO politician from Montenegro at the Danish Parliament, saying that he did not know the visitor’s political positions and should have carried out a better background check.
The leader of the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti) hosted Vladislav Dajković at Christiansborg in Copenhagen on Monday. Videos published by Dajković’s party showed the two politicians talking in Messerschmidt’s office, walking through the parliamentary chamber and exchanging a handshake and a friendly pat on the shoulder.
At the end of the visit, Messerschmidt told Dajković to “go win”, a remark that prompted criticism from Danish government and opposition politicians after TV 2 reported on the meeting.
Morten Messerschmidt says he did not know Dajković’s positions
Messerschmidt initially defended the visit in a Facebook post, arguing that he would not stop meeting people simply because others considered their opinions unacceptable.
One day later, however, he told TV 2 that he regretted accepting the meeting.
“Of course, I need to be better at googling and checking who my friends are asking me to show around,” he said. Messerschmidt explained that a mutual acquaintance had contacted him because Dajković wanted to visit the Danish Parliament.
According to the Danish party leader, the meeting did not focus on foreign policy. He said he had expressed support for NATO, Ukraine’s defence and the accession of Finland and Sweden to the alliance.
Messerschmidt also said that “go win” was intended as a general wish for a good election campaign rather than an endorsement of Dajković’s programme.
Dajković presented the visit differently. Speaking to the Montenegrin media outlet Borba, he described it as an official meeting concerning Europe’s political and security architecture and thanked Messerschmidt for his “sincere support”.
Who is Morten Messerschmidt?
Morten Messerschmidt is the chairman of the Danish People’s Party, a national-conservative and anti-immigration party that has played an influential role on the Danish right.
Born in 1980, Messerschmidt has led the party since 2022. According to his official profile at the Danish Parliament, he first entered the Folketing in 2005 and served as a member of the European Parliament between 2009 and 2019. He returned to the Danish Parliament that year and became a member of its Presidium in April 2026.
Messerschmidt is known for his criticism of European integration, his support for stricter immigration policies and his emphasis on Danish national sovereignty. He took control of the Danish People’s Party after a period of severe electoral decline and internal instability.
His position on Russia has repeatedly attracted political attention. In 2024, he argued that Denmark had reached its limit in supporting Ukraine and promoted a peace proposal that was welcomed by Russia’s ambassador to Copenhagen.
Messerschmidt rejected the ambassador’s praise and wrote that he despised President Vladimir Putin and everything the Russian government represented. He has also accused Russian media of selectively using his statements to create divisions in Danish politics.
Following the latest controversy, he again stressed that the Danish People’s Party fully supports Denmark’s NATO membership and rejects Putin’s government.
Dajković leads a pro-Russian and anti-NATO party
Vladislav Dajković is the founder and leader of Free Montenegro (Slobodna Crna Gora), a small right-wing party that he has described as Montenegro’s only pro-Russian and anti-NATO political organisation.
He campaigns for the removal of Montenegro’s sanctions against Russia, withdrawal from NATO and an end to the country’s process of joining the European Union. He also wants Serbian to regain official-language status and opposes Montenegro’s recognition of Kosovo.
Dajković has publicly praised Russia and argued that young Montenegrins should consider what they can do for the country. During a meeting with Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova in 2025, he reportedly declared: “Glory to Russia.”
His programme places him in direct opposition to the Montenegrin government’s current foreign-policy direction. Montenegro joined NATO on 5 June 2017 and continues to participate in alliance operations and multinational deployments, according to both NATO and the Montenegrin Ministry of Defence.
The country is also one of the most advanced candidates for EU membership in the Western Balkans.
Danish politicians criticise the friendly images
The meeting drew criticism across Denmark’s political spectrum, including from politicians belonging to other right-wing parties.
Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus of the Social Democrats said Messerschmidt had a “serious problem to explain”. He argued that wishing Dajković victory was particularly concerning while Denmark was supporting Ukraine and strengthening NATO.
Karsten Hønge, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti), said the visit was “directly contrary to Denmark’s interests”. He distinguished between meeting political opponents and publicly appearing to encourage their campaigns.
Liberal Alliance parliamentary leader Ole Birk Olesen similarly said politicians were free to meet whomever they chose, but criticised Messerschmidt for appearing in material that could be interpreted as encouraging Serbian voters to support a pro-Russian party.
The Conservative People’s Party (Det Konservative Folkeparti) welcomed Messerschmidt’s subsequent expression of regret. Its political spokesperson Frederik Bloch Münster said close and friendly contact with an anti-NATO politician did not serve Danish interests.
The controversy is about endorsement, not dialogue
The criticism has focused less on the fact that the two politicians met than on the friendly presentation of the visit and the political use of the images.
Dajković’s party published edited footage from inside Christiansborg and portrayed the encounter as evidence of international support. This gave the meeting a significance beyond a private tour of the Danish Parliament, particularly because Dajković is campaigning against the strategic alliances supported by both Denmark and Montenegro.
Messerschmidt has rejected any endorsement of those positions and acknowledged that the visit should have been handled differently. The episode nevertheless revives an unresolved question in Danish politics: how politicians can maintain dialogue with radical or pro-Russian movements without allowing those contacts to be used as political validation.
