Far-right factions in the European Parliament have slammed a so-called “cordon sanitaire” created by their opponents to prevent their MEPs from securing vice-presidencies and other key positions in the legislature.
MEPs voted on Tuesday to elect 14 new vice-presidents for the next two-and-a-half years following the re-election of Malta’s Roberta Metsola as the institution’s president.
The vice-presidential ballot saw the election of MEPs from all groupings except Patriots for Europe, a far-right bloc established in June by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, and Europe of Sovereign Nations, also known as the Sovereigntists — a smaller right-wing grouping headed by Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The voting was seen as a test of the “cordon sanitaire” strategy of centrists and left-wing uniting to keep out the hard right.
Right-wing parties were keen to take some of the vice-presidencies following strong gains in European elections last month which left the Patriots as the parliament’s third largest group. However, their ambitions were stymied by a collaboration of opposing factions.
Political isolation
Of the 14 vice-presidencies, five were secured by the left-wing Socialists and Democrats, three by the center-right European People’s Party, and two each by the Eurosceptic Conservatives and Reformists bloc and the liberal Renew Europe, with the remaining positions going to the Greens and the Left each.
Despite its size, Patriots for Europe found itself isolated in Strasbourg, much to the displeasure of its members. The grouping’s deputy head, Kinga Gál of Orbán’s Fidesz party, voiced her distaste on X.
“Shame on this European Parliament, especially the EPP Group, who once again ignored the will of millions of European voters who voted for change,” she wrote.
“Instead of respecting democracy and parliamentary customs by electing a vice-president the Patriots for Europe group nominated, they enabled a far-left, communist politician to have the position.”
On Wednesday, the parliament voted to appoint five quaestors, or financial and administrative officials, with the hard-right again finding themselves blocked and the Patriots’ candidate, Hungary’s Pál Szekeres, failing to win a post.
The vice-presidential ballot saw the election of MEPs from all groupings except Patriots for Europe, a far-right bloc established in June by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, and Europe of Sovereign Nations, also known as the Sovereigntists — a smaller right-wing grouping headed by Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The voting was seen as a test of the “cordon sanitaire” strategy of centrists and left-wing uniting to keep out the hard right.
Right-wing parties were keen to take some of the vice-presidencies following strong gains in European elections last month which left the Patriots as the parliament’s third largest group. However, their ambitions were stymied by a collaboration of opposing factions.
Political isolation
Of the 14 vice-presidencies, five were secured by the left-wing Socialists and Democrats, three by the center-right European People’s Party, and two each by the Eurosceptic Conservatives and Reformists bloc and the liberal Renew Europe, with the remaining positions going to the Greens and the Left each.
Despite its size, Patriots for Europe found itself isolated in Strasbourg, much to the displeasure of its members. The grouping’s deputy head, Kinga Gál of Orbán’s Fidesz party, voiced her distaste on X.
“Shame on this European Parliament, especially the EPP Group, who once again ignored the will of millions of European voters who voted for change,” she wrote.
“Instead of respecting democracy and parliamentary customs by electing a vice-president the Patriots for Europe group nominated, they enabled a far-left, communist politician to have the position.”
Another unsuccessful Patriots candidate, Fabrice Leggeri, a former executive director of the EU’s Frontex border control agency, tweeted that the EPP had betrayed its political orientation by backing an “extreme left” candidate, Younous Omarjee, over his grouping.❗️Shame on this @Europarl_EN , especially the @EPPGroup, who once again ignored the will of millions of European voters, who voted for change. Instead of respecting democracy and parliamentary customs by electing a VP the #PatriotsforEurope group nominated, they enabled a…
— Kinga Gál (@kingagalMEP) July 16, 2024
On Wednesday, the parliament voted to appoint five quaestors, or financial and administrative officials, with the hard-right again finding themselves blocked and the Patriots’ candidate, Hungary’s Pál Szekeres, failing to win a post.
Source: PAP, Euractiv, Euronews, European Parliament
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