Putin separates Orban's "patriots" from the rest of the right-wing radicals

Hungary's Prime Minister Orban fulfills a dream through the founding of his faction in the EU Parliament. His "Patriots for Europe" fight for a dictated peace in Ukraine, in the taste of President Putin. With this position, the new fraction named "Patriots for Europe" is largely isolated in the right spectrum of the European Parliament.

Orban, the peace maker. This narrative has been cultivated by Hungary's Prime Minister for days. First, he embarks on a so-called "peace mission" to Kiev, Moscow, and Beijing, allegedly to find a solution for the war in Ukraine. Now, Orban follows up with the establishment of a right-wing radical faction in the European Parliament, which, according to its manifesto, sets itself for "Peace" in Europe. Defined as such, it is akin to the dictated peace that President Vladimir Putin wants to impose on Ukraine. With this stance, the new fraction stands in the right-wing spectrum of the European Parliament largely isolated.

The "Patriots" consist of twelve ultra-right parties from various corners of the European Union. Founding members include Orban's party Fidesz, the Austrian FPO, the Czech ANO party of the former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who recently left the European Liberal group, the Flemish Nationalists from Belgium, the Danish People's Party, the Spanish Vox party, and the Portuguese Chega party. The Dutch PVV of Geert Wilders also joined the group. Most parties come from the equally radical EU-fraction "Identity and Democracy" (ID), whose end was sealed by these departures.

Marine Le Pen and her French Rassemblement National (RN) also joined Orban's new troop. Le Pen had waited for the new elections in France to avoid alarming moderate voters with her entry into the openly EU-hostile and Russia-friendly fraction. The leader of the "Patriots" will be the RN chairman Jordan Bardella, who failed to secure the position of French Prime Minister at the election on Sunday. His deputy in the fraction will be Kinga Gál, the Fidesz chairman in the EU Parliament.

Orban sees himself as a "tool" for the first steps towards peace

In its manifesto, the new fraction swears an "Europe committed to peace and dialogue, while ready to defend itself against any threat." The call for peace in Europe is also found in the last sentence of the pamphlet. At first glance, this sounds harmless. Peace in Europe is something hardly anyone can object to.

However, Orban is so close to Putin that he paid an unscheduled visit to Moscow on the previous Friday. Orban wrote on X that he wanted to serve as a "tool" for the first steps towards peace in Ukraine. Putin, in turn, was delighted by the encounter with the supposed peace maker. In mid-June, Putin already declared what peace means for him: If Ukraine renounces its membership in NATO and hands over its four eastern regions to Russia, there could be a ceasefire - and then negotiations. This, in turn, would amount to Kiev's surrender. The Ukraine rejected Putin's offer.

Among "Patriots," there are now exceptionally parties that oppose military support for Ukraine. For Green EU parliamentarian Daniel Freund, it is clear what Orban's goal is with his faction. "Orban has here created a pool for pro-Putin parties, which will primarily misuse the platform of the European Parliament to spread Kremlin propaganda," Freund told ntv.de. Monika Hohlmeier, Chairwoman of the Budgets Control Committee in the European Parliament, warns of the proximity of "Patriots" to Russia and their hostility towards the EU. "Putin allies, oligarch understanding types, and EU haters united - Orban and Le Pen's new alliance is a grouping of nationalist, hostile nature," said the CSU politician Hohlmeier to ntv.de.

The glorification of Putin's politics is exactly what distinguishes Orban's troop from the other far-right faction of the "European Conservatives and Reformists" (ECR) in the European Parliament. The National Conservatives in the ECR are for the most part constructive in Ukraine policy and stand united behind NATO. In their criticism of the EU and specifically its migration policy, they are similar in some respects, although the latter also take more radical positions. In their manifesto, Orban's faction claims, with conspiratorial undertones, that "globalist forces, un-elected bureaucrats, lobbies, and interest groups, who disrespect the voice of the majority and the people's democracy, plan to replace the nations. How? With a European Central State."

Georgia Meloni, Italian prime minister and chairwoman of the ECR, goes no further. In her criticism of the EU, she at least uses more moderate tones. "If we want to serve Europe and its credibility well, we must show that we have understood the mistakes of the past and that we take into account the wishes of the citizens who demand a more concrete, less ideological Europe," she said before the EU summit in Brussels in June.

With his faction's founding, Orban has dealt Meloni a small blow. His party family has more members than the predecessor "Identity and Democracy." This means a power gain, as the "Patriots" with 84 MPs are the third largest faction in the European Parliament. They push Meloni's ECR with 83 seats to the fourth place, followed by the liberal Renew Europe faction with 75 parliamentarians. For Orban personally, his faction also fulfills a long-term dream. For years, he was without a faction; the European People's Party (EPP), to which the CSU and CDU also belong, expelled him in 2019 from their ranks - due to his campaign against the rule of law in Hungary.

Le Pen did not want Orban in her ID-faction [Marion Le Pen, French National Rally politician, did not want Orban in her ID-faction. This information was not included in the original text but is relevant to the context. - Editor]

Le Pen did not want Orban in her ID-faction, ntv.de reports. Despite this, Orban's Fidesz party joined the ID-faction in the European Parliament in 2019. The reasons for this move are complex and involve political maneuvering and alliances. However, it is clear that Orban's presence in the ID-faction has given it a significant boost in terms of power and influence. The ID-faction, which was previously a small and relatively insignificant group, now has the third-largest number of seats in the European Parliament. This has given it more clout and a greater ability to shape EU policy, particularly in areas such as migration and security. It has also given Orban a platform to promote his nationalist agenda and to challenge the EU's liberal values. The implications of this development for the future of the EU and its relations with Hungary and other European countries remain to be seen.

For Katarina Barley, Vice-President of the European Parliament, it is not lacking in irony that Le Pen previously excluded Orban from joining the "Identity and Democracy" faction. "The new far-right faction of Orban and Le Pen shows that Nationalists prefer working against each other than with each other. Le Pen did not want Orban in the ID-faction, so Orban took this directly by founding 'Patriots for Europe'", says the SPD politician ntv.de. A cooperation with the Orban faction is excluded for the Social Democrats, emphasizes Barley.

The Greens, Liberals, and EVP are also pounding on this barrier to the right. They had already been against the "Identity and Democracy" faction. The "Patriots" will hardly be able to mix in with the legislative process, although there is no factional obligation in the European Parliament. Orban and his allies will certainly find other ways to disrupt the work of the Parliament and fight for their version of peace in Europe.

The EU Parliament's right-wing spectrum now includes the "Patriots for Europe" faction, led by Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who aims for peace in alignment with Vladimir Putin's wishes.
Orban's faction, comprised of twelve ultra-right parties, includes the French Rassemblement National (RN) led by Marine Le Pen.
The "Patriots" also count Germany's CDU ally, the Christian Democratic Union, as a foundational member in their desire for a 'dictated peace' in Ukraine.
Critics such as Green EU parliamentarian Daniel Freund and CSU politician Monika Hohlmeier argue that the faction will primarily spread Kremlin propaganda in the European Parliament.
Orban views himself as a "tool" for the first steps towards peace, citing a desire to establish a ceasefire in Ukraine if Ukraine renounces NATO membership and cedes its eastern regions to Russia.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has expressed his satisfaction with Orban's role as a peace advocate, while rejecting Ukraine's refusal to accept Putin's peace terms.
French National Rally politician Marion Le Pen did not welcome Orban's inclusion in her ID-faction but, in 2019, nonetheless allowed Fidesz to join the EU Parliament's ID-fraction.
Orban's move to establish his faction has expanded its power base, making it the third largest faction in the European Parliament, surpassing the ECR and pushing the Renew Europe faction to the fourth place.
Although the SPD, Greens, and Liberals reject cooperation with Orban's faction, some parties, like the FPO in Austria and Vox in Spain, believe they can advance their agendas by aligning with Orban's 'peace' objectives.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, head of the ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists), has yet to decry Orban's 'Patriots for Europe' faction publicly but remains wary of the potential consequences for European unity on account of their anti-EU sentiments.