One day after its failure in the second round of the French legislative elections, the National Rally of Marine Le Pen announced this Monday that it is joining the new radical right group in the European Parliament led by the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor OrbánPatriots for Europe. A group that will also include the League of Matteo Salvini, as confirmed by the Italian Deputy Prime Minister himself.
With these two latest additions, Patriots for Europe Orbán’s group would thus have a total of 84 MEPs from 12 different Member States and would become the third largest group in the European Parliament, surpassed only by the EPP and the Socialists. The group led by Orbán has thus overtaken the European Conservatives and Reformists of 2011. Giorgia Meloniwhich after the withdrawal of the six representatives of Vox falls to 78 MEPs.
In the end, Radical right forces have been unable to create a large supergroup unique in the European Parliament, a failure that Orbán himself attributes to the rivalry between Le Pen and Meloni. As was the case in the previous legislature, Internal divisions among ultra forces will limit their ability to influence real in the EU. “E“This does not mean that the bridges have been cut or that there are no contacts (between Le Pen and Meloni). Things are moving in the right direction,” said the spokesman for the National Rally, Jean-Paul Garraud.
[Vox abandona el grupo de Meloni en la Eurocámara y se pasa al de Viktor Orbán]
The entry of Le Pen and Salvini into the Patriots group was announced by the Hungarian government on Monday.This new right-wing faction aims to be a decisive force in shaping the future of Europe. Let us join forces and fight together for a better future!” said its spokesperson, Zoltan KovacsIts two programmatic priorities are to combat the creation of a “European super-state” and to strengthen external borders and the fight against illegal migration.
The National Rally candidate for prime minister, Jordan Bardellahad already anticipated this in his defeat speech on Sunday. “In the European Parliament our MEPs will play their full role from tomorrow within a large group that will weigh on the balance of power in Europe for reject migratory submersion, punitive ecology and the confiscation of our sovereignty“, Bardella said.
The founding meeting of Patriots for Europe in the European Parliament
Le Pen’s party is by far the most the one that contributes the most MEPs to Patriots for Europea total of 30. That is why the president of the group will be Bardella himself. They are followed by the Hungarians of Fidesz (11); Salvini’s League (8); the Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO) of the Czech Republic (7); the Austrians of the FPÖ, the Dutch of Geert Wilders and Vox (6 each); the Flemish of Vlaams Belang (3), the Portuguese of Chega and the Czech coalition Oath and Motorists (2 each) and the Danish People’s Party, Latvia First and the Greek Voice of Reason (1 each).
In fact, the Patriots for Europe represent a Evolution of the group led by Le Pen in the previous legislature, Identity and Democracy. The most important change is that it comes out Alternative for Germanyexpelled by Le Pen herself for considering them too radical; and Fidesz, which was a member of the non-registered party after leaving the European People’s Party, enters. Vox (which will hold a vice-presidency with Hermann Tertsch)) and ANO (which until now was a member of the liberal Renew party). Along the way, Orbán has snatched away from the Frenchwoman her status as the group’s undisputed leader.
Viktor Orbán and Matteo Salvini, in an image released by the Hungarian government
In the previous legislature, the rest of the political forces applied a kind of cordon sanitaire to Identity and Democracypreventing its MEPs from accessing the vice-presidencies of the European Parliament or the presidencies of committees. However, it is not clear that this veto can survive now that it has changed its name and become the third largest group in Parliament.
The main dividing line between Meloni’s Conservatives and Reformists and Orbán’s Patriots is its position towards RussiaThe Italian prime minister (and her main partners, the Polish Law and Justice party) have always supported Ukraine and NATO and have taken a hard line against the Kremlin.
In contrast, the Hungarian Prime Minister refuses to provide military aid to the Government of Volodymyr Zelensky and has He showed his closeness to Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow last weektaking advantage of the platform offered by the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council and challenging the other member states.
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