Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to join forces with Marine Le Pen and Giorgia Meloni in an attempt to gain leverage in the European Parliament.
The decision comes ahead of the upcoming EU election in June, with Orban, alongside Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, hoping that a new right-wing alliance will help them gain more influence in the next parliamentary term.
Obran’s party, Fidesz, is considering which faction to join after they left the centre-right European People's Party in 2021.
Options include the national-conservative European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group and the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID).
Viktor Orban wants to team up with Marine Le Pen and Giorgia Meloni to gain leverage in the European Parliament
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An alternative option could be forming a new group altogether.
“The current structure is not good: the national conservative forces are leading in the polls and do not have an adequate voice in the European Parliament,” Balazs Orban, political director of the Hungarian Prime Minister, told Euractiv.
Taking a dig at the current factions within the European Parliament, he said: “So we need to create an environment where national conservative forces are much more heard on the European stage as well.”
He described the ID, ECR and their national delegations as an ineffective counter force to “federalist” parties, after the UK left the EU.
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Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also hopes a right-wing alliance forms
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Asked if Fidesz should join ECR, the political director replied: “We have many options.”
If Orban wants to join the ECR, both Morawiecki and Meloni will need convincing, as both play pivotal roles within the right-wing “national-conservative camp”.
Morawiecki, who was interviewed earlier by the same publication, said that Obran and Meloni have a strong relationship and an alliance could be beneficial to all three.
However, some ECR members are sceptical of allowing Fidezs into the faction, mainly due to Orban’s views on Ukraine.
Last December, Orban vetoed the EU’s plan to send an aid package to Ukraine. Speaking about the union's plans to begin membership talks with Ukraine - and provide €50billion in financial aid - Orban said: “The European Union is about to make a terrible mistake, and they must be stopped.”
Obran’s party, Fidesz, is considering which faction to join after they left the centre-right European People's Party in 2021
ReutersOrban has since conceded and voted in favour of granting Ukraine the aid.
Another key figure within the potential alliance is Marie Le Pen, who is currently part of the ID group.
While Morawiecki is in favour of cooperation with Le Pen, he dismissed the idea of a complete unification between ECR and ID as their policy stances are too different.
Orban, the political director, also said that Fidesz is willing to collaborate with Le Pen. However, the ultimate decision boils down to Meloni, who is widely regarded at the forefront of the EU’s right wing.
Nicola Procaccini, ECR co-chair and FdI member believes that collaboration amongst the far-right EPP and liberals is possible, stating that they had some points in common.