In a few days, Marine Le Pen could bring the National Rally (RN) party into the French government. But in Europe, the sovereigntist group he leads is in danger of extinction: after the farewell declared to the Austrians of the FPÖ, even the Portuguese in Chega are ready to abandon the Identity and Democracy (ID) party that, like the FPÖ, attracted them. The sirens are ringing for a new group of “Patriots of Europe” that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is forming.
With these defections, the Identitarian Party will have around fifty MEPs from 7 EU countries: this is the minimum to be able to form a group in the European Parliament. If just one of the coalition parties withdraws in the coming days, the sovereignists will no longer have a group. A possibility that is not far off.
The League, which is currently the second-largest force in the coalition after the French National Front (which represents 60% of the PD’s MPs), welcomed Orban’s initiative: “The Nationals? It’s the most interesting project of the Alternative for Europe. What motivates it is discontent with a system that doesn’t work and doesn’t change,” Marco Zani, a Northern League member and Matteo Salvini’s man in Europe, told Corriere della Sera. For now, Zani has not lifted his reservations about a possible switch to the Nationals, just as Le Pen has not.
