Nearly 300 right-wing extremist candidates running for office in Swedish election

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) - Swedish political parties have candidates running in this year’s elections who are linked to right-wing extremism that have expressed xenophobia, Nazism and racism, according to research published Thursday.

A total of 289 politicians running are linked to right-wing extremism, said Acta Publica, Sweden’s leading research company.

The Sweden Democrats stand out with “an overwhelming majority of candidates (214) who have an active connection to, or background in, the extreme right-wing setting," it said.

Twenty-two are from the ruling Social Democrats party, believed to be linked to right-wing extremism.

Another 22 from the Sweden Social Democratic Worker’s party are on the list, 20 from the traditional right-wing Moderates and Christian Democrats have 20 candidates listed.

Other parties have a handful of candidates who support far-right ideologies and extremism.

These are individuals who have been members of the right-wing extremist movement, have participated in organized events, expressed views on extremist forums or have supported the movement in one way or the other, said the report.

Some, however, have been convicted of violent crimes motivated by right-wing extremism.

Since 2006, thousands of candidates who have participated in the elections, have been linked to right-wing extremism and more than 1,100 have been on parliamentary parties' electoral lists for municipality, region and parliament, according to Acta Publica.

The far-right Sweden Democrats, once forbidden from politics because of its neo-Nazi ties, is set to become the second-largest party in Sweden after elections next month.