The European far-right is more divided than ever after the failure, first of Marine Le Pen’s French party and then of Matteo Salvini’s Italian party, to continue forming a group in the European Parliament together with the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The reason is some controversial statements by the party’s candidate for the European elections, Maximilian Krah, who in an interview in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica stated: “I will never say that anyone who had an SS uniform was automatically a criminal.”
The first to move was National Regrouping (RN), Marine Le Pen’s party, which hopes to gain strength in these upcoming European elections. It is part of the Identity and Democracy (ID) group along with Salvini’s League, Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party in the Netherlands or, until now, AfD. But, according to what the head of international relations in Strasbourg for Le Pen’s party, Thibaut François, told La Repubblica, they will no longer ally themselves with the Germans in the next legislature. The campaign manager of Jordan Bardella, president of the party, confirmed the break in Liberation with the far-right formation.
Later, Salvini’s League, which until now was the largest party in the ID delegation in the European Parliament, confirmed that it supports the positions of Le Pen’s party. “As always, Matteo Salvini and Marine Le Pen are perfectly aligned and in agreement,” the League said, after learning of Le Pen’s decision.
The case is yet another complication for Matteo Salvini, who has been displaced in Italy by the pull of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of the Brothers of Italy, who heads the group of Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the direct competition in the European Parliament. But it could also be an opportunity for ID to present itself with better cards for future alliances. For example, the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, representative of Forza Italia, made it clear that the European People’s Party would never agree with the AfD.