Former party councillor threatens defamation case over poster dispute

Allan Svendsen has left the Danish People’s Party after a dispute over payment for election posters, and is considering legal action over comments made by the party’s secretary, DR reports.

Svendsen, a councillor in the Tønder municipality, says the comments were defamatory. He argues that the conflict was created by the party and that he wants to clear his name after being portrayed in national media as someone who does not pay what he owes.

The party says Svendsen owes 36,000 kroner for election posters. Some posters supplied for local and parliamentary elections were of poor quality, and several candidates received a 15 per cent discount. Svendsen wanted to return his posters and receive replacements, while the party maintained that he still had to pay for them.

Before leaving the party on Saturday, Svendsen initiated payment of the 36,000 kroner. He disputes the bill but says he paid to bring the matter to an end. Party secretary Kenneth Kristensen Berth told DR that the party expected to receive the money on Tuesday.

The dispute was discussed at a meeting of the party’s executive board the day before Svendsen resigned. He says he had been promised an update after the meeting but received none. Peter Kofod, the party’s parliamentary group leader, said in a text message that the matter had nothing to do with him and had been handled properly by the party secretary.

Svendsen received 545 personal votes in the November 2025 local elections, the third-highest total among politicians in Tønder municipality.

Another Tønder councillor, Pernille Mai Brylle, has also left the party, but the party says her departure is unrelated to the unpaid posters. Brylle told DR that she was loyal to her principles of decency and truth, responding to criticism from the party secretary over her support for Svendsen.