Georgy Kutyrev's comment on the possibility of a new faction of the European Parliament

Georgy Kutyrev, researcher at the International Laboratory on World Order Studies and the New Regionalism at the Higher School of Economics, commented on the possibility of forming a new faction in the European Parliament (EP) for the Independent Public Monitoring.

In the near future, a new faction "Sovereigntists" may be formed in the European Parliament under the wing of the Alternative for Germany party, which, according to Der Spiegel, will be "pro-Russian". According to Georgy Kutyrev, it is unlikely that the union will be like that, as representatives of European parties will continue to pursue their interests.

The basis for the faction should be the "Sofia Declaration", signed by many European right-wingers on the eve of the European Parliament elections. With the continued demand for strong far-right parties in the EU society, it is quite possible to count on the emergence of a new faction in the EP in the future. At the same time, it should be understood that such a faction should have, on the one hand, a "reputation shield" or a respectable image, through which the faction will be perceived by the electorate as a "normal", systemic, non–extremist political force, and on the other hand, not be in a tough confrontation with other party forces of the EP.

 

The pro-Russian position, in a certain way, can be dangerous for the new faction, as it can scare away ordinary voters who are used to supporting the decisions of the "collective West" in their bulk. In this regard, in the event of the appearance of "Sovereigntists", the faction is not expected to make explicit curtsies towards Moscow. There is too great a chance to remain, to a certain extent, isolated in the party-political system of the EP.

The rest of the comments can be found at the link