Tomorrow belongs to us
(from the BBC)
Far-right parties are on the rise in much of Europe, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni senses a big moment.
“We are on the eve of a decisive election,” the Brothers of Italy leader tells a packed hall in Madrid by video link. Marine Le Pen of France’s National Rally is in the front row, alongside Santiago Abascal, who heads Spain’s Vox party. “We are the engine of our continent’s renaissance,” the Italian prime minister declares, before rousing her audience to a standing ovation.
"Ms von der Leyen’s European People’s Party is likely to end up as the biggest group and she has left the door open to an alliance with the ECR as long as they are pro-Europe, pro-Ukraine and in favour of rule of law.
The ECR includes not only Brothers of Italy, but also Poland’s right-wing populist opposition party, Law and Justice, Spain’s Vox, Riikka Purra’s Finns Party - part of the Finnish government - and Jimmy Akesson’s Sweden Democrats, who work with the Swedish government without being in it."
The other far right grouping in which Le Pen is the big wig , the Identity and Democracy (ID) group have just excluded the AfD due to allegations of key figures pro Nazi comments and Russian finance connections. Meloni may make a bid to get Le Pen to join the ECR or may think Von Der leydons embrace is more attractive .
What we are seeing is the equivalent of the Azov narrative in which the far right under the centrist's wooing have shed their skin and previous sins and become one of them.
The Socialist grouping, which in most cases is a name rather than a political belief, has said that they will not support von der Leyen's bid for a further term in the European Parliament unless she distances herself from Meloni. Whatever principles the Socialist grouping has the truth is that if von der Leyen doesn't like them, they will have others.
