Towards a European far right?

Marine Le Pen, French Front national leader and Geert Wilders, Dutch PVV leader during a press conference at The Hague, the 13th of November

Some weeks ago, Marion Maréchal Le Pen went to Antwerp (Belgium) to meet the Vlaams Belang’s main leaders. More than a simple visit, the main goal of this meeting was to make connections between the Flemish extremist and nationalist party and the French front national in the perspective of the May 2014 European elections.

It was in the same spirit that Geert Wilders, Dutch PVV leader welcomed Marine Le Pen at The Hague, the last 13^th of November to make an alliance gathering the main nationalist and/or far right parties for the next European ballots. For the moment, the alliance was extended to the Belgian Vlaams Belang and the Austrian FPÖ.

Marine Le Pen realized the European Parliament may be a very nice political tribune to critic an European Union and an European integration she loathes as her friends from Vlaams Belang and PVV. Nonetheless, it supposes a very present and united far right within the Strasbourg hemicycle, which supposes a parliamentary group.

According to the EU Treaties and the European Parliament regulation, at least twenty-five MEPs coming from seven EU Member states minima are needed to claim a political group within the European Parliament, conditions Marine Le Pen can fulfil at the condition to find coalition partners, what she is trying to get throughout her tour of Europe currently.

Nonetheless, such a challenge is less obvious to succeed. Indeed, if all these nationalist and/or far right movements have for mutual wish to dismantle the European Union and change it in a kind of confederation of European nations, they seem to disagree on some points.  For instance, while PVV and FN made an alliance, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) refused to join it, the Nigel Farage’s movement refusing to be assimilated to the far right. What is more, although Geert Wilders received Marine Le Pen, some people inside his party are sceptical regarding the rapprochement between the two leaders, due to the French Front national’s image and the bad reputation.

It is too soon to know if Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders (who needs to exist politically speaking since his huge defeat after the Dutch legislative elections) will succeed to create a political group in the European parliament insofar as such an objective is going to depend on the results got by any member of the coalition at the moment of the election.

Nevertheless, the emergence of an European far right is not finally a so bad news for the European integration and the EU political space insofar as it should force the other EU traditional parties to Europeanise themselves and get involved in the coming debates. Indeed, the Party of European Socialists, the European People’s Party, the European Greens, the European Democratic Party or the Left European Party are still considered as conglomerate of national parties sharing common values only and not a deep and clear political strategy, what it is to fear for the next EU campaign even if some important progress was done by parties as the PES or the EPP regarding the election of the European Commission president for instance. The probable creation of a far right political group (first step to the creation of a far right parties confederation maybe) is paradoxically an opportunity for the European integration and its more than necessary politicisation.