EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Like chocolate and mustard, or orange juice and toothpaste, the various flavours of far right in the new European Parliament just don't seem to go together and are already having trouble cooking up a united bloc in the chamber, despite the gains the extremists made in the European elections on the weekend. Far right on the march, but maybe not so much in the European Parliament The `softer' far-right parties so far seem more interested in jumping aboard the UK Tories' proposed European Conservatives grouping than cobbling together a nationalist bloc, but it is an open question whether the attraction will be requited. The European elections on the weekend delivered a moderate advance of eight seats on the number of MEPs in the last parliament, eliciting fears that they might club together in a political grouping in the parliament, a move that would open a tap to thousands of euros in EU funds.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Like chocolate and mustard, or orange juice and toothpaste, the various flavours of far right in the new European Parliament just don't seem to go together and are already having trouble cooking up a united bloc in the chamber, despite the gains the extremists made in the European elections on the weekend.
Far right on the march, but maybe not so much in the European Parliament
The `softer' far-right parties so far seem more interested in jumping aboard the UK Tories' proposed European Conservatives grouping than cobbling together a nationalist bloc, but it is an open question whether the attraction will be requited.
The European elections on the weekend delivered a moderate advance of eight seats on the number of MEPs in the last parliament, eliciting fears that they might club together in a political grouping in the parliament, a move that would open a tap to thousands of euros in EU funds.
EUobserver / Far-right having difficulty clubbing together in EU parliament
The Vlaams Belang for its part has not had any discussions with any other parties to the right of the conservative mainstream and does not expect to do so for a few weeks. "We're waiting a bit to get involved in talks," said spokesperson Philip Claeys, "Many of the parties we would like to work with are currently in discussions with the UK Conservatives."
The Vlaams Belang for its part has not had any discussions with any other parties to the right of the conservative mainstream and does not expect to do so for a few weeks.
"We're waiting a bit to get involved in talks," said spokesperson Philip Claeys, "Many of the parties we would like to work with are currently in discussions with the UK Conservatives."
More:
On Tuesday (9 June), freshly elected MEP Morten Messerschmidt of the Danish People's Party was in Brussels meeting on Tuesday the Tories, who have announced they are to split with the European People's Party (EPP), the centre-right - and largest - grouping in the parliament.
First the PiS, now the DF -- when can we officially classify the Tories on the far right? Well, they don't want to be:
The Tories for their part are believed to be opposed to the entry of the xenophobic Northern League into their new club. "The only parties that would absolutely be excluded would be those that are too extreme, anti-semitic," he said, declining to name which parties he would define as too extreme.
The Tories for their part are believed to be opposed to the entry of the xenophobic Northern League into their new club.
"The only parties that would absolutely be excluded would be those that are too extreme, anti-semitic," he said, declining to name which parties he would define as too extreme.
Ummm, have they looked at the PiS more closely? *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
