The head of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, wants to put the fight against the far-right AfD at the centre of the EU election campaign next year, calling them the main enemy.
While Weber has entertained the idea of edging closer to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s national conservative Fratelli d’Italia party, he stressed there would be a “firewall” between any form of cooperation with the AfD, which belongs to the same political family as Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National and Matteo Salvini’s Lega.
According to Weber, the AfD “is not only a political competitor, but an opponent and an enemy,” he told Funke media group on Sunday.
The AfD is heavily opposed to the European project, openly advocates dissolving the EU and calls it “not reformable”.
“We live from exports. And anyone who questions the European single market is putting the axe to our prosperity. In the same way, Germany’s security is endangered because the AfD is nothing more than a stirrup holder for Putin,” Weber added.
Weber also said he wants to defend the legacy of Germany and its conservative CDU/CSU parties against this push towards disintegration and to “put the destructive idea of the AfD at the centre of the European election campaign next year,” he said.
“A battle for the soul of Europe is coming – also in Germany,” he added.
The AfD is currently polling at a historic 20%, which puts the far-right party in second place in the polls – even outperforming Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD.
However, Weber also defended his rapprochement with Meloni, with whom he keeps frequent contact. Especially when it comes to migration, cooperation with the Italian prime minister would be essential.
“We are currently implementing a migration agreement with Tunisia together with Italy. This will reduce arrivals in the EU,” Weber also said.
The debate over the post-EU election alliances has also caused tensions within the Italian coalition government of Meloni (ECR), Antonio Tajani (EPP) and Matteo Salvini’s Lega (ID).
The alliance on the horizon between the EPP and ECR already upset many, but Salvini’s proposal to include his far-right EU family (ID) – such as Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National and Germany’s Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD) in the framework – essentially replicating the Italian government model – was the last straw.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani – deputy PM and leader of Forza Italia – has explained that “Matteo Salvini will never be the problem”, but AfD and Le Pen certainly are.
Read more: Von der Leyen’s silence sparks EU election ‘proxy war’ in Italy
(Oliver Noyan | EURACTIV.de)
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Source: euractiv.com
