AfD founds new group in EU Parliament
After being kicked out of the ID group, the MEPs of the German AfD party were left without a group in the EU Parliament. And in the new parliament none of the major right-wing groups wanted to work with them either. Now 14 AfD members - without Maximilian Krah - have reportedly joined forces with eleven other MEPs from seven countries to form a new group called Europe of Sovereign Nations.
Little common ground with Eastern Europeans
The new group will remain a fringe phenomenon, Lidové noviny predicts:
“The project has attracted several smaller radical parties, including ones from the Czech Republic. But it will remain isolated. The major parties will not allow it to secure important positions in the parliament. And the group itself won't be able to agree on common policies, aside from rhetorical criticism of the EU and Nato. It's hard to reconcile the AfD's contemptuous attitude towards Eastern Europeans with cooperation with MEPs from Poland, the Czech Republic or the Baltic states. Moreover, some AfD members appear to see positive aspects in Nazi policies.”
Polish nationalists beware
The Polish nationalist Konfederacja party is divided - some MEPs have joined the group, others have decided not to. Rzeczpospolita comments:
“The AfD's programme is completely contrary to Poland's interests on many points. Our interests cannot be pursued with a party that counteracts them. How does this group contradict our interests? Firstly, AfD politicians have on occasion questioned the inviolability of the Oder-Neisse border, which is the absolute basis of Polish sovereignty. The AfD is also an overtly pro-Russian party. It preaches a cult of German nationalism while expressing understanding for Russian imperialism - the worst possible combination for Poland.”
United in destructiveness
The Frankfurter Rundschau doesn't believe the right-wing camp will be weakened by the differences:
“It would be naïve to believe that the right-wing parties won't be able to work together if doing so means they can achieve their political goals. The various far-right parties will set themselves apart from each other when it serves their interests and make common cause if this can increase their power. And in Strasbourg and Brussels these interests are not furthered by their working constructively anyway; after all, the enemies of Europe reject the entire undertaking there out of hand. And they will block progressive policies to the extent that their votes allow them to do so - regardless of which parliamentary group they belong to.”