European People’s party declines to sign letter
condemning far-right political violence
Commitment of Ursula von der Leyen’s party to fighting
destructive forces is in question, say signatories
Lisa
O'Carroll in Brussels
Wed 8 May
2024 16.43 CEST
A row has
broken out among political parties in Europe after the centre right group to
which Ursula von der Leyen belongs refused to sign a letter condemning the far
right and a spate of attacks on politicians in Germany, Belgium, Spain, Sweden
and Ireland.
The open
letter calls on von der Leyen to “reject any normalisation, cooperation or
alliance with the far right and radical parties” and denounces a physical
assault on the German centre-left politician Matthias Ecke. Ecke was “seriously
injured” after allegedly being attacked by four young men while putting up
campaign posters.
The letter
has been signed by five of the main political parties in the European
parliament, including the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats,
Renew, representing the liberals, the Greens and the Left.
But the
European People’s party (EPP), the largest group in the parliament representing
conservative-leaning parties throughout Europe, declined.
The French
MEP Valérie Hayer, the head of Renew, said her group, which is backed by
Emmanuel Macron, regretted that the EPP had not signed. She said: “This puts
their commitment to the common fight against destructive, far-right forces into
question. We urge the EPP to reconsider and to join this pro-European
commitment.”
Tensions
have been building since a leaders’ debate in April over which alliances the
mainstream parties are prepared to form after the European elections in June.
Von der Leyen, who is running for a second term as president of the European
Commission, was guarded at the debate about closing down alliances with the
rightwing ECR group, which includes the party of the Italian prime minister,
Georgia Meloni, as well as extreme right parties such as Éric Zemmour’s
Reconquête in France, Spain’s Vox and the Sweden Democrats.
At the
time, Von der Leyen criticised the far-right Identity and Democracy group which
unites France’s National Rally, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the
Danish People’s party, condemning them as “Russian proxies”, but her more
equivocal position on the ECR group drew fire from critics.
The EPP
reacted furiously to the open letter row, saying the political parties that had
signed were playing a “nasty” game, and suggestions that von der Leyen would
work with the far right were “bullshit” and “fake news”.
Von der
Leyen had frequently ruled out working with the far right, the EPP added.
On
Wednesday, von der Leyen restated her intention not to work with the far right.
In a speech in Germany, she said she would only work with parties that had “a
clear commitment to the rule of law, a clear commitment to Ukraine and against
the crimes of the Kremlin, and a clear commitment to our Europe.
She said:
“With the servants of the Kremlin, despisers of democracy and extremists, there
is no state and no European Union either.”
Sources
said the EPP had balked at the use of the term “far right” in the letter. It is
understood the EPP had wanted the letter to condemn the “far left” and to add a
paragraph restating that the group of parties would only, as the EPP has
declared, work with parties that are pro-Ukraine, pro-Nato and pro-rule of law.
The
signatories of the letter wrote: “Once more the far right is attempting to
bring back the darkest pages of our history, challenging everything we built
and poisoning our democracies.”
They went
on to “strongly condemn the constantly growing [number of] cases of harassment,
vandalism, spread of disinformation, defamation and hate speech by far right
parties” across all member states.
The EPP
leader in the European parliament, the MEP Manfred Weber, said: “Our principles
are clear: we only cooperate with parties that are pro-European, pro-Ukrainian
and pro-rule of law.”
Attacks on
politicians on social media are now commonplace across Europe but there is
mounting concern over physical assaults and harassment at their private homes.
The motive
for the attack on Ecke on Friday remains unclear. None of the teenagers has so
far spoken, according to police, who have said they are being investigated for
grievous bodily harm. But Nancy Faeser, the federal interior minister, has
blamed the far right for stoking a climate of violence with hate-filled
rhetoric, including on social media.
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