Hungarian Conservative

Mainstream political groups in the European Parliament have once again defied the will of the electorate, preventing Patriots for Europe (PfE), the EP’s third largest group, from gaining top jobs in parliamentary committees. Kinga Gál, PfE’s First Vice-Chairman, stated that they will challenge the decision at the Conference of Presidents and did not rule out taking the case to the EU’s top court.

The Nézőpont Institute compared how EPP MEPs voted on five highly significant issues in the previous European parliamentary term, how Hungarians view these issues, and how the new right-wing party family, Patriots for Europe, which issued its Patriotic Manifesto on 30 June, aligns with these views.

After late-night talks, EU leaders have decided on the top jobs of the EU, with Ursula von der Leyen preparing for a second term as President of the European Commission, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa as President of the European Council. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán criticized the pact between the EPP, S&D, and Renew, which disregards the will of the voters, calling it a ‘coalition of lies and deceit’.

Orbán seems to have reached a compromise with exiting Dutch PM Mark Rutte about the latter’s NATO SecGen candidacy. But as for nominating von der Leyen again as next Commission President, Orbán, did not mince his words last night. He declared on X that ‘the will of the European people was ignored’ on Monday evening, and stated that the EPP eventually teamed up with ‘the socialists and the liberals’.

Manfred Weber, President of the European People’s Party, stated that the door is open for new opposition leader Péter Magyar’s party to join the European Parliamentary political group, but that he is not the sole decision-maker. The Hungarian Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP) has announced that it will leave the EPP if the Tisza party joins the group.

According to French journalist Charles Sapin right-wing forces are unlikely to achieve the sweeping turnaround many anticipate in the upcoming European Parliament elections. However, in his opinion they could still shift the political centre of gravity to the right.

Ursula von der Leyen has signalled her willingness to depart from current practices and collaborate with the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) political group should she secure a second term as Commission President. Von der Leyen unveiled this idea during her speech at the Maastricht Debate on Monday, a move that has stirred considerable backlash from the traditional allies of the EPP.

While one might envision the European right as a cohesive entity, significant differences exist between the two prominent EP political groups, ECR and ID, particularly on crucial issues such as the war in Ukraine. As the summer EP elections draw nearer, the pressing question revolves around whether and how the conservative forces across the continent can be unified in the new parliament.

With just over four months remaining until the European Parliament elections in June, no European political group has managed to present a real top candidate for the presidency of the European Commission, except for the European People’s Party. This raises the likelihood of 2024 marking the end of the Spitzenkandidat system.

Hungarian political analyst and commentator András László pointed out that according to a recent survey, a coalition of ECR, ID, and Fidesz MEPs could become the strongest political group in the European Parliament in 2024.

While Europe was busy disciplining Hungary and Poland, the far-left Socialist government of Spain, preparing for re-election, surreptitiously smuggled its politicians into the Constitutional Court.

This March, a long and painful struggle finally came to end.