In the last session of the departing EU Parliament, the fight against violence against women was discussed. This led to a debate about the number of sexes.
Member of the Liberal Renew group Karen Melchior brought out the opposite sex and emphasized that biology is not bipolar.
A Romanian member of the nationalist ECR group Cristian Terheş did not accept the idea.
– If you claim that a man who plays a woman is a woman and that a man can get pregnant, please tell me how it is biologically possible.
Many representatives of the far right emphasize traditional family values and oppose the issues of sexual and gender minorities. Some are very patriarchal.
Immigration is a flagship project
The far-right is motley, but the biggest common denominator is opposition to immigration. In addition, the parties want the EU to play as small a role as possible, even though the number of people calling for an EU exit has decreased. Many are at least former friends from Russia.
The far-right is predicted to gain clearly more seats in the EU elections.
Senior researcher Stefan Lehne The Carnegie Europe think tank says that far-right parties have two possible paths: either the parties socialize with others or they start infecting others. The newspaper has just published a study on the extreme right in Europe.
Socialization means that the parties become part of the group after coming to power. Steep slopes soften. This has happened to basic Finns and Italian brothers.
The change is not necessarily permanent though. It is affected, among other things, by the support figures.
– Some like it [Italian pääministerin Giorgia] Melon change as a temporary one, so that an even nastier EU-critical side emerges in politics. It’s just been put on the shelf when money flows in abundance from the EU recovery fund.
In Finland, the strict government program keeps the parties in check.
Government responsibility does not always lead to a middle ground. Poland’s Law and Justice party and Hungary’s Fidesz became even more radical and their anti-EU stance increased.
If you block this, I’ll block that
Contagion, according to Lehne, means that the behavior of extreme right-wingers spreads to others.
If, for example, a member state blocks EU decisions for national reasons, the others also do not want to act constructively so that the common interest is the most important.
– If you block this, I’ll block that. Why would I be a decent citizen if everyone else is pursuing their own national interest.
According to Lehne, the main responsibility for the future of the extreme right belongs to the parties representing the mainstream. They must resist the temptation to go in the same direction.
More Orbán would be a threat
A bigger threat than the EU Parliament is in the governments and commissions of the member countries, where the EU’s power is concentrated.
– If there are five orbáns, the contagious effect will definitely be stronger.
Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán alone can’t do much for things. The far-right’s power will clearly increase if there are three to four more like-minded prime ministers.
In Austria, the far-right FPÖ leads opinion polls, as does the Flemish Vlaams Belang in Belgium. In Holland, the far right won, but no government has been formed. in France Marine Le Penn is strong for president, but there is time for elections.
A shift to the far right would be reflected in decisions on immigration and the green transition.
– Then the EU is in serious trouble. The fact that the president of the United States is being re-elected can be connected to the background Donald Trump. It would incite the radical right in Europe as well.
The ID group performs for the home crowd
The far-right is most clearly represented in the EU Parliament by Identity and Democracy, or the ID group. Some group the European conservatives and reformists, i.e. the far right of the ECR group.
However, the ECR group has sometimes been accepted as a partner of others. On the other hand, ID has not been given tasks, for example, in the management of committees or in the preparation of reports.
Far-right MEPs make speeches in the plenary session, but otherwise they are not active.
– Few participate in legislative work. Most of them use their membership in the European Parliament as a stage for their home audience.
Lehne thinks that the center-right EPP, which will probably remain the largest group, may rely more and more on the ECR and even the ID in order to achieve its goals in, for example, climate issues and immigration.
The ID group has a Finnish expert
Estonian Jack Madison talks in Finnish. He learned a little Finnish as an exchange student at Hanko’s Swedish-speaking high school.
Madison’s Estonian conservative people’s party EKRE belongs to the ID group. The polite young man does not represent the extreme extreme.
He wants power to remain more at the national level. According to Madison, the EU Parliament is often a source of disputes.
– When the member states and the EU Commission have reached an agreement, the parliament comes from the corner and says that we do not accept this idea.
Less EU is the idea of Madison and the entire far right. Economic cooperation and free trade are at the core, but now the EU is trying to regulate everything.
– When we joined as members in 2004, the federal government was not mentioned, but cooperation was talked about.
Von der Leyen does not qualify
Italian member of the Northern League Marco Campomenosi is dissatisfied with the climate policy of the parliamentary term. According to him, the decisions must be changed.
– That is why we oppose van der Leyen’s candidacy. He was not strong enough to defend the centre-right.
Chairman of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen is applying for a further season, and needs support from other groups for this.
Strict climate requirements hinder trade and take investments outside the EU, where the same requirements do not exist, Campomenosi criticizes.
Sympathy for Russia has been turned off
Jaak Madison strongly condemns Russia, like almost all Estonians.
The members of the ID group are accused of complicity with Russia, but according to Madison, there are friends of Russia in every group of the EU Parliament.
Chairman of the Northern Union Matteo Salvini visibly fraternized with Putin. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian sympathies have been extinguished, as in many other groups.
– The Northern Alliance has no relationship with Russia. We have supported all Ukraine decisions in Brussels and nationally, says Campomenosi.
He emphasizes that before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many European leaders met with Putin, not just Salvini.