Eurosceptics Snub Wilders’ Attempt to Form European Far-Right Party
The right wing and nationalist parties try to band together periodically to form official Parliament groups, but the problem is they hate each other almost as much as the other out groups they select. The last successful attempt at this was short lived, when the Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty political group split after disparaging comments from Alexandra Mussolini.
The controversial Dutch far-right leader wants to gather like-minded parties in a mass movement ahead of next year’s European elections, but not all are ready to join. UKIP frontrunner Nigel Farage has rejected such an initiative.
The controversial leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), Geert Wilders, has toured Europe over the past few weeks in an attempt to create a new movement of far-right parties ahead of the next European elections, scheduled to take place in May 2014.
Wilders met with like-minded leaders from the Belgian Vlaams Belang, the French National Front (FN), the Swedish Democrats, the Italian Northern League and possibly also with the newly formed German Alternative for Germany.
The PVV had until recently energetically rejected any possible collaboration with Le Pen’s FN or the Vlaams Belang.
The Dutch nationalist leader clarified his European ambitions in the Dutch media.
Wilders said he did not want to see “extremist and racist” parties joining his movement, citing Hungary’s Jobbik and the British National Party. His wish is to bring together those who are “against the European Union and against mass immigration,” he told the Dutch public broadcaster NOS.
But so far, few have confirmed their participation in this new political platform, which is supposed to create a coalition of eurosceptic movements.
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