The leader of the League, Italian far-right party, Matteo Salvini. – Alessandro Serrano ‘/ AGF / SIPA
In a new attempt to strengthen ties between far-right parties in Europe, Italy’s Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League, announced on Tuesday that he would meet the leaders of Hungary and Poland.
Talks with Hungarian Prime Ministers Viktor Orban and Polish Prime Ministers Mateusz Morawiecki are scheduled to take place in Budapest on Thursday, Matteo Salvini’s office said in a statement. “The creation of a common charter of values, freedom, rights, principles, future objectives (…) will be the subject of the meeting with the Hungarian and Polish Prime Ministers”, for his part affirmed Matteo Salvini.
The three officials are expected to sign a joint declaration and also discuss cooperation on migration, health, education, foreign policy and family values, the Italian politician said. Past attempts – including Matteo Salvini’s – to unite the disparate array of far-right, Eurosceptic and nationalist parties from European Union countries under one political umbrella have failed.
Second strength of the European Parliament in case of victory
The League leader noted that if the two far-right groups that currently exist in the European Parliament merged, they would become the second largest group in the assembly and gain enormous influence.
The far-right camp is divided even in Italy, as Matteo Salvini’s League joined the national unity government led by former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi last month. The Brothers of Italy (FDI) led by Giorgia Meloni, a party which has its roots in neofascism, has however remained in opposition. He also sits in a group of the European Parliament (Conservatives and Reformists, CRE) different from that of the League (Identity and Democracy, ID).