Svazek for FPÖ at the EU right-wing populist meeting
In addition to the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Mateusz Morawiecki from Poland and Marine Le Pen from France also attended the meeting. Marlene Svazek had no reservations – even if she does not want to judge the politics of the right-wing populist parties in the other EU countries.
“It is in the nature of things that parties that are partly concerned with their own nation state also represent these interests,” said Svazek. “I’m certainly not there to judge what national politics the participants are making, but that we can agree on which big issues we can tackle together. I don’t think you should comment on national politics from Austria, or there are always different points of view as far as the actual politics of the different parties are concerned.”
Coordination office at parliamentary level
The aim of the meeting of the different right-wing parties from around 15 European countries was closer cooperation in the European Parliament. Svazek emphasized on Saturday that one step had been taken: “We have decided to see a parliamentary coordination office in Brussels, which is expected to dovetail the votes and the structural and organizational aspects of the two groups more closely.”
It is not yet a formal alliance of all right-wing parties in the EU Parliament, but it is a step towards it, Svazek added: “With the major European issues such as effective external border protection, greater economic independence for Europe and a restrictive migration policy that is completely diametrically opposed to the current one should be, we all agreed,” said the Salzburg FPÖ boss.
But also with a view to the lessons from the coronavirus pandemic, which point in the direction that Europe must become more independent: “We have great agreement in the diagnosis of the challenges facing Europe and the will to work together to create a strong European Union of sovereign nations build up, free cooperation,” agreed the host of the right-wing populist Spanish Vox party, Santiago Abascal, with FPÖ politician Svazek.
Right-wing nationalists have a hard time with the alliance
In Madrid, the main thing was to strengthen trust in each other, according to Svazek. But Europe’s right-wing nationalists are finding it difficult to form a large, cross-border alliance. Many right-wing parties in the EU are currently dreaming of a united movement against the Brussels establishment. But the way there is more than bumpy, as indicated by the summit meeting with a few vacant seats in the Spanish capital. Neither Portugal’s right-wing Chega war present in Madrid, nor the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Meanwhile, the international meeting of European right-wing parties in Madrid was a major prestige success for Spain’s right-wing populists. Svazek had already represented the FPÖ at a meeting of right-wing populist parties in Warsaw in early December.