In a recent video released by the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti) on social media, the party uses Liberation Day on May 4th to criticize Denmark’s relationship with the EU. The video, which includes old archive footage and references to the liberation message from 1945, portrays Danish politicians as having “surrendered” to the EU. This has caused great outrage among several politicians, including Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (V), who describes the video as “disrespectful, historically ignorant, and brainless.” Morten Dahlin (V), one of Løkke’s ministerial colleagues, has also expressed his dissatisfaction with the video on social media, calling it a “miss.” He emphasizes that Liberation Day should be about Denmark’s liberation from the Nazis, not about EU politics.
Mohammad Rona, immigration spokesperson for the Moderates (Moderaterne), rhetorically questions whether this is the “blue block” that some long for, in a comment that clearly shows his distancing from the message of the video. Anders Vistisen, lead candidate for the Danish People’s Party in the upcoming EU elections, explains that the video should be seen as part of the election campaign and is meant as a humorous commentary on the EU’s influence on Denmark. He believes that the video highlights the importance of Denmark remaining a free and independent country, which he describes as “the lifeblood” of the Danish People’s Party.
This video is not the first controversial media production from the Danish People’s Party. Earlier this month, the party received criticism for another video that used deep fake technology to depict a fake Mette Frederiksen (S) talking about abolishing Christmas. Party leader Morten Messerschmidt defended the video and expressed surprise at the criticism.
This latest video from the Danish People’s Party has once again sparked debate about the boundaries of political communication on social media, and how historical events should be used in modern political discourse.