Austrian Kickl brings down the European anti-populist firewall – POLITICO

Manfred Weber, chairman of the center-right European People’s Party to which von der Leyen belongs, previously said his party was opposed to any collaboration with a group that was not “pro-European… pro-Ukraine… (and) pro -government “. of law. »

In Meloni’s case, the Brotherhood of Italy politician has moderated her anti-European positions since coming to power, providing cover for the EPP leaders. But the same cannot be said of Orbán or Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who support Putin and regularly attack EU ally Ukraine. As for Kickl, diplomats view him as a “strict ideologue” who could prove more difficult to manage than Orbán, even though the Austrian leader would theoretically be constrained by a coalition deal.

“What happened to Jörg Haider cannot happen again, that we are going to quarantine these people,” said Frank Furedi, executive director of the Orbán-backed MCC Brussels think tank.

Milan Nic, a senior researcher at the German Council on Foreign Relations, said the increase in the number of right-wing populists in the European Council will have a broader impact on the bloc’s politics.

“Even if you have two or three (populists at the table), it’s a totally different game than everyone ganging up on one,” Nic said. “What unites them is this cynical and pragmatic nationalist position that they want an EU à la carte rather than something coordinated.

Here, there, everywhere

The erosion of the firewall is visible in the Commission, where a member of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists, Raffaele Fitto, an ally of Meloni, was appointed vice-president despite protests from the left and the Greens.