Far-right pact fixed

Orbán and Kickl conclude right-wing pact

"Patriotic Manifesto": FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (right) and Czech former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (left) in Vienna on Sunday.(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl received Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš in Vienna on Sunday. The result of the meeting: the formation of a new EU parliamentary group in the European Parliament. For Kickl, European politics is entering a "new era of freedom, sovereignty, peace, prosperity and values".

The right-wing parties from Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic, which were victorious in the EU elections, want to form a joint EU parliamentary group. June 30 is a "historic day", said Kickl. His neighbor Orban added: a day for the "history makers".

"Carrier rocket" for other parties?
Kickl happily presented a "political alliance" formed by "patriotic forces". This group should be a "carrier rocket" that would "take other parties on board" and "join forces to secure a good future for Europe" - for "our generation, for our children and all those who come after us".

"Patriots For Europe"
Orban emphasized that the new parliamentary group should "change European politics". Babis announced that the alliance would be called "Patriots For Europe" and would be "united by three main priorities", namely "the defense of sovereignty, the fight against illegal migration and the revision of the Green Deal".

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán listens to the words of his new parliamentary group colleague.(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

"Patriotic" alliance
Kickl made the announcement at a joint press conference with Orbán and Babis in Vienna on Sunday. According to Kickl, other parties would join this "patriotic" alliance.

The FPÖ, Orbán's national-conservative Fidesz and Babis' liberal protest party ANO each won the European elections in their respective countries at the beginning of June. Orbán's right-wing nationalist party Fidesz, which has ruled with a two-thirds majority since 2010, does not currently belong to a political group in the EU Parliament. It left the European People's Party (EPP) in 2021 after years of conflict.

Orbán announced that the grouping would become the largest right-wing group in the EU Parliament. The FPÖ previously belonged to the smaller Eurosceptic group in the EU Parliament, "Identity and Democracy" (ID).

The three parties alone will bring together the 23 mandates required to form a parliamentary group, but they still need supporters from at least four other EU states.