The chair of the S&D group in the European Parliament, Spain’s Iratxe García Pérez, and the co-chairs of the Greens/EFA group, Germany’s Ska Keller, and France’s Manon Aubry of The Left, criticised the EPP group chair, Germany’s Manfred Weber, for supporting national parties in the European People’s Party (EPP) allied with far-right parties in national elections, such as in Sweden and Italy.
“Mr Weber, I ask you to reconsider your role in the European project because at the end of World War II, the founders of the Christian Democratic family understood that the best patriotism was to seek a common future in the European Union. On the side of social democracy and not on the side of exclusionary nationalism. I have realised that you are straying from this path”, García Pérez said in the debate on the State of the Union speech (see other news).
For Ms Keller, the EPP is playing “a risky game, which could backfire”. Pro-European political forces do not ally themselves with Mr Putin’s supporters or with forces bearing fascist logos, she said.
Ms Aubry also regretted “that the right has chosen to ally itself with the far right” at European and national level.
The leader of the far-right group Identity and Democracy, Italian Marco Zanni, suggested that the three left-wing groups should put an end to “the fascist threat in Europe”, advising them to engage with citizens who are fed up with the “devastating policies” for which these groups are allegedly responsible.
Speaking as a non-attached Member, Hungarian Tamás Deutsch of Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, which has been excluded from the EPP group, noted that in the Hungarian parliamentary elections, the socialists, liberals and environmentalists had allied themselves with Jobbik, “an anti-Semitic party”.
In Sweden, where the final results of the parliamentary elections were expected on Wednesday evening, the nationalist Sweden Democrats party allied itself with the traditional right.
In Italy, where parliamentary elections will be held on Sunday 25 September, the coalition of Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia, Matteo Salvini’s La Lega and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, an EPP member is well ahead in the polls. At the end of August, Mr Weber went there to support Mr Berlusconi. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)