Harris says Denmark should give Bornholm to Russia

Independent MP Jacob Harris said Danes should be prepared to give Bornholm to Russia if it attacked the island, arguing that avoiding further deaths could eventually take priority over fighting on, DR reports.

Speaking at a debate at Kolding Library on Saturday, Harris said Danes would initially defend the island. But if many families lost loved ones, he said, people might decide to spend their summer holidays elsewhere and give up Bornholm.

The island’s two MPs responded sharply. Social Democrat Lea Wermelin wrote on Facebook that the comments were disturbing to hear as a Bornholm resident and were not something to say as a joke.

Liberal Party MP Peter Juel-Jensen said he was willing to contribute towards a one-way ticket to Russia for Harris.

Harris said he had been misunderstood and that his remarks were about ending the war in Ukraine. Denmark would naturally fight to regain Bornholm if Russia occupied it, he wrote. But if thousands of Danish families lost loved ones, he asked, would more people eventually wonder whether a bad peace was better than an endless war?

Harris was originally elected to parliament for the Citizens’ Party and now sits as an independent.