Social Democrats are in the Danish People's Party's crosshairs: You are part of Putin's agenda

Danish People's Party to Stand with Russian President Putin's Allies in European Parliament's Identität und Demokratie (ID) Group, Criticizes Christel Schaldemose

The Danish People's Party (DF) is under fire for having its European Parliamentarian, Anders Vistisen, lead the ID group, which includes parties with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin.

Christel Schaldemose, the Social Democrats' lead candidate for the upcoming European Parliament elections, sharply criticized Vistisen:

> How can Anders Vistisen be the leader of a group where there are people who, in fact, are Putin's allies? Putin wants division in Europe, and he gets it when he has support from these politicians who clearly go against Europe's and Denmark's security policy interests, Schaldemose told P1 Morgen.

The ID group consists of several European parties on the far-right, including the German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which has recently come under heavy scrutiny for its close ties to Putin and the Russian government.

Prominent AfD members Petr Bystron and Maximilian Krah, who are both running for European Parliament, have been accused of receiving money (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/tysk-politiker-fra-det-hoejrenationale-parti-afd-beskyldes-have-modtaget-penge-fra) from Russia to spread pro-Russian sentiments through the media Voice of Europe. Both have denied the allegations.

Recent reports by the German magazine Der Spiegel (https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/afd-spionageaffair-russia-and-china-in-focus-new-revelations-burden-the-party-1714480876-a-a1c05e64-b6bc-4c6b-844e-a78a32ec4f91) revealed that the Russian government had drafted a pro-Russian 'manifesto' for AfD. Moreover, AfD leader Björn Höcke has reportedly urged Germans to stand shoulder to shoulder with Russians.

- How can Anders Vistisen be the leader of a group where there are people who, in fact, are Putin's allies? Putin wants division in Europe, and he gets it when he has support from these politicians who clearly go against Europe's and Denmark's security policy interests, Schaldemose told P1 Morgen.

Anders Vistisen is the DF's candidate for European Parliament. He insists that there is nothing to challenge. (Photo: Linda Kastrup, Ritzau Scanpix)

Read also: DF's Anders Vistisen to be Spidskandidat for European Right-Wing Group (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/dfs-anders-vistisen-bliver-spidskandidat-europaeisk-hoejrefloejsgruppe)

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'Something harsh to say'

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Schaldemose emphasizes that it is still important "to distance ourselves from Putin and what the Russians are doing in this time." This applies to Anders Vistisen himself, she believes.

> ID-group wants foreign policy to be defined and conducted nationally.

> Anders Vistisen (DF), EU-politician

- Anders Vistisen has also raised the question of whether there isn't a deadline for support for Ukraine. He says there is a deadline, and we are getting closer and closer to it. It's also about raising a debate at a time when I don't think there is a deadline, says Schaldemose to P1 Morgen and adds, ID-group will not exclude members based on their foreign policy.

And Anders Vistisen, who represented ID in a large debate (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/df-spidskandidat-gik-til-angreb-paa-ursula-von-der-leyen-under-eu-debat-du-er-den) with representatives from European Parliament's other groups last month, will not "take responsibility for everything that a random member of the German party says."

- ID-group wants foreign policy to be defined and conducted nationally. There are people in all groups in the European Parliament who are too close to Putin and Russia and don't support Ukraine enough, says Anders Vistisen.

At the end of April, Anders Vistisen represented his group in a debate with, among others, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. (Photo: Marcel van Hoorn, Ritzau Scanpix)

Read also: DF-spidskandidat attacked Ursula von der Leyen during EU debate: 'You are the first we will fire' (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/df-spidskandidat-gik-til-angreb-paa-ursula-von-der-leyen-under-eu-debat-du-er-den)

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A personal attack

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DF's Vistisen describes himself as a "hardliner" towards Russia and dismisses the idea that he would have compromised on a debate about whether support for Ukraine has an expiration date. It was just an observation that Western aid was running out, he says.

> The truth is, we are under so much pressure in European social democracy due to the decline we are experiencing, while our group is on the rise.

>

> Anders Vistisen (DF), EU-politician

- We have seen this with the United States' lack of military aid and with the military aid from social democratic governments outside Denmark. What I was going to say was that the aid should come now if it is to help the Ukrainians, says he and characterizes the entire debate as a "personal attack" on him.

- The truth is, we are under so much pressure in European social democracy due to the decline we are experiencing, while our group is on the rise. We have started to lean on a 'non-confrontational' rhetoric, which we know from Denmark in the 1990s. I think this is a low point in this election campaign so far, says he.

Schaldemose points out that the Social Democratic group in the European Parliament expelled Slovakian members who were pro-Putin last year. Therefore, she does not buy Vistisen's defense.

- It is not in Denmark's security policy interests to have people who support Putin and do what he wants, which is to create division in the European community, says she.

There are elections to the European Parliament on June 9, 2024.

Five years ago, there was a 'threatening situation' in the European Union. Now Europe faces a sharp right-wing swing (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/eu/fem-aar-siden-blev-der-truttet-kraftigt-i-det-europaeiske-horn-nu-staar-europa)

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