Against the Commission, against a European super-state, against, or almost, military support for Ukraine : in Brussels the moment has come for the Patriots for Europe , the new group launched by Viktor Orban which, in less than a month, gathered 84 MEPs from 12 different countries.
The D-Day for the start of their adventure had been set for July 8, a few hours from Marine Le Pen's possible victory in France. Beyond the Alps, something has gone wrong for the far right. The aspiring prime minister Jordan Bardella had to settle for the presidency of a group that still came in third place in the European Chamber, overtaking the cousins of Ecr on its first day of life.
On the European right, the Patriots have triggered an earthquake. In recent days, membership has multiplied. The last to say yes was Le Pen . “But the Rassemblement had been working on the project for a long time, we just waited for the elections,” assured MEP Jean-Paul Garraud.
The delegation, with its 30 elected representatives, is the majority shareholder of the Patriots, followed by the 11 MEPs of Fidesz and the 8 of the League. The group was joined by the ANO MEPs, led by the Czech Andrej Babis, the Austrian FPO, the Spanish Vox and the Dutch sovereignists of the PVV. To complete the family, the Belgians of Vlaams Belang, the Portuguese of Chega, the Danish People's Party, the Czechs of Oath and Motorists and the sovereignists of First Latvia.
Orbanian Kinga Gal was elected first vice president. In the vice team there is also the League's preference champion, Roberto Vannacci .
«The Patriots represent hope for millions of citizens in European nations», underlined Bardella.
The group's program is rather linear: to return to an intergovernmental Europe, with an extensive range of dossiers under the exclusive competence of individual states . Starting with two key themes of the next five years, that of defense and that of migration , in relation to which the Pact signed by the 27 in recent months is being asked to be dismantled.
"We are not for an alternative to Europe but for a European alternative", underlined the Patriots during a crowded press conference at the European Chamber in Brussels. A meeting during which, with evident hesitation, the sovereignist MEPs answered journalists' questions on their position on Ukraine.
The impression is that there are different sensitivities in the group . Fidesz did not intervene while the Dutch PVV clearly underlined their support for Kiev although at the same time "we must work for peace".
"We condemn the Russian attacks but we don't want an escalation," the Lepenist Garraud pointed out. The impact of the Patriots on the EP will not be long in coming also because, in the first six months, the group will be able to count on the support of Hungary, the rotating president of the EU.
Against them, however, the pro-EU will not lower the sanitary cordon by an inch. The group is aiming for - and will ask for - top positions in the European Chamber, thanks to its numbers. He will hardly get them. Yet the Patriots assure that they could increase further, perhaps drawing on the Meloni Conservatives. «An adhesion of the Polish Pis? That's the impression", underlined Garraud, specifying that "with Meloni the bridges have not been burned, things evolve".
(Unioneonline/vl)