Vox Party Joins Orban's New European Alliance

Spanish far-right party Vox announced its decision to leave the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament to join a new alliance led by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. This move affects Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's strategy to maintain the ECR's influence.

Spanish far-right party Vox declared on Friday that it will exit the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group within the European Parliament, opting instead to join a new coalition spearheaded by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. This development poses a significant setback to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's efforts to retain ECR's stature as the third-largest faction in the legislative assembly and to lead the opposition against a coalition of moderate conservatives, social democrats, and liberals.

In a statement, Vox asserted that the strengthened presence of patriotic forces in the European Parliament presents a historic chance to consolidate voter mandates into a powerful bloc capable of challenging the center-right, Socialist, and far-left coalition. Orban's proposed group, named Patriots for Europe, aims to answer to the call for a radical and urgent shift in EU policies.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal emphasized in a La Gaceta interview that despite their move, Meloni's Brothers of Italy party will remain a crucial ally. He also commended Poland's Law and Justice party for its leadership in European patriotism, despite its current reluctance to join Orban's platform. Orban's party, Fidesz, has already attracted alliances with Austria's Freedom Party, the Czech Republic's ANO, and Portugal's Chega.

According to EP rules, any new group must span at least seven member states. Patriots for Europe still requires partners from two additional countries to be officially recognized. It's uncertain whether Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) will join, although the Financial Times reported ongoing talks and anticipated a decision by Monday.

In the recent European elections where far-right parties gained significant ground, Vox doubled its parliamentary seats to six and garnered 1.69 million votes, an increase of nearly 300,000 from the 2019 elections.

(Disclaimer: With inputs from agencies.)