Hungary's Orbán unveils "Patriots for Europe" alliance with Austrian, Czech far-right parties

WORLD  30 June 2024 - 16:02

ON JUne 30, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán unveiled a new alliance, partnering with Austria's far-right Freedom Party and the main Czech opposition party, aiming to create the largest right-wing faction in the European Parliament.

Orbán traveled to Vienna to introduce the “Patriots for Europe” coalition, uniting his Fidesz party with the Freedom Party and former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's ANO party. This announcement comes just before Hungary assumes the European Union’s rotating presidency for six months, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The recent European Parliament elections in early June saw a rise in support for hard-right parties, although their success varied by country, leaving the potential for a cohesive collaboration uncertain. Currently, these parties are distributed across two groups in the EU legislature, along with several unaligned parties.

In recent years, Orbán has frequently opposed key EU decisions, often clashing with other leaders on issues such as the Ukraine conflict, relations with Russia and China, and the defense of democracy and the rule of law. His public dissent has frustrated other EU governments and isolated him from the continent’s mainstream political sphere.

Orbán stated at Sunday's event, “What Europeans want is three things: peace, order, and development. And what they are getting from the elite in Brussels today is war, migration, and stagnation.” He added, “Our objective is, and we believe that this will happen, that in a short time, this will be the strongest right-wing group in the European Parliament.”

To form a successful group in the new parliament, the alliance would need to attract lawmakers from at least four more EU countries.

Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl highlighted that the new European Parliament will convene for the first time in Strasbourg on July 16. He expressed openness to additional political forces joining their reform efforts, stating, “Starting immediately ... all political forces that want to join in our political and positive reform effort are very welcome.” Kickl hinted at more potential partners, though he did not name any.

The Freedom Party narrowly secured first place in the European Parliament election and aims to win Austria's national election on September 29.

A “patriotic manifesto for a European future" signed by the three party leaders criticizes alleged plans for “a European central state" and commits to “prioritize sovereignty over federalism, freedom over diktats, and peace.”

Caliber.Az