Some of Sweden’s Democrats Back Russia on Ukraine - Newspaper

The situation in eastern Ukraine has left the Swedish democrats bitterly split with some increasingly embracing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stance on the ongoing crisis in the former Soviet republic.

“There is a faction within the Swedish Democrats party which takes a more positive view of Russia and views Vladimir Putin as an inspiring ideological example to follow,” writes Patrik Oksanen, political editor of Swedish daily newspaper Hudiksvalls Tidning.

“This group is closer to the National Front of Marine Le Pen, one of Putin’s best friends in Europe. I call them ‘Putinists’ as opposed to the Swedish

Democrats who represent Sweden’s more traditionally-minded right-wingers who take a more skeptical view of Russia,” Radio Sweden quoted Patrik Oksanen as saying.

Oksanen also said that the ‘Putinists” within the Swedish Democrats party blame the EU for the West’s anti-Russian stance and believe that it is the EU and the West as a whole, which is actually responsible for what is going on in Ukraine.

"All through 2014 they voted in the European Parliament just like the most pro-Putin parties did… Like the National Front in France, the Party of Freedom of Geert Wilders in The Netherlands, the Austrian Freedom party of Jörg Haider and others,” Oksanen added.

Patrik Oksanen said that the political atmosphere within the Swedish Democrats party heated up with the advent of a group led by William Hahne. As a result, the Stockholm branch of the party is now led by Putin supporters.

The Swedish Democrats party holds 49 seats in the 349-strong lower house of the Swedish parliament.

The party describes itself as social conservative with a nationalist foundation.