Flirting, but not right-wing marriage

Europe's biggest nationalists, anti-immigrants and eurosceptics gathered in Warsaw on Friday and Saturday in a new attempt to form some kind of grand coalition. The "Politiko" portal reports that the Hungarian Prime Minister was among the guests Viktor Orban, the French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and a Polish conservative Jaroslav Kaczynski. The news of the meeting started rumors that they are trying to implement the idea of ​​forming a new supergroup that could change the balance in the European Parliament.

"Politko", however, states that these speculations lasted only a few hours, as they were suppressed by the politicians themselves right from the start.

"Cooperation and joint communication with group photography, yes, but nothing beyond that," he said Nikola Baj, the French MP who led the parliamentary delegation of the National Assembly.

The announcement states that they discussed "closer cooperation" in the European Parliament, "including the organization of joint meetings and pooling of voices around common topics," but there is no mention of a joint political group.

The Brussels portal recalls a similar outcome from July, when 16 right-wing European parties signed a joint declaration against the EU, but rejected suggestions about a single party.

There are a number of reasons for strained relations within the extreme right. Although the right-wing likes these rallies, which always end up in the headlines, the parties often play different games, navigate different directions in domestic politics and have different goals in Brussels. Their ideologies are opposed in key areas. Often, they just don't like each other.

Italian populist conservative leader Matteo Salvini, who is under pressure at home from a rival right-wing group, pulled out before the meeting even began. "It is necessary to wait for the right time so that selfishness and fear at the party and national level can be overcome", according to the announcement of his League.

Brussels power games

Teaming up in Brussels to force a common distrust of the EU has obvious drawbacks for European nationalist and more conservative parties.

Right now. The two more conservative groups in the EP, Identity and Democracy (ID) and European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) have approximately 70 MPs each. This means that they are the fifth and sixth forces in the parliament. United, with 133 MPs, would come in third place.

Such a jump would, at least in theory, mean more money, more speaking time and more influence.

However, it has its drawbacks, "Politko" points out.

ECR already has some influence in the parliament. One of their members chairs a committee, and their deputies draft reports. ID is more isolated, fenced off by EP leaders who do not want its extreme views to enter laws and reports.

If these two parties were to join forces, ECR MPs could suddenly be expelled for fraternizing with ID. In addition, they would have to defend the alliance in the next European elections among voters who do not really appreciate certain radical views of IS.

National rivalries

Behind the scenes, right-wing parties spent Sunday blaming each other for who is preventing the formation of a coalition. The portal writes that friction was especially pronounced between the French and Polish camps.

Poland dominates the ECR - its delegation represents about 40 percent of that group. On the other hand, France and Italy dominate in ID. One ID official blamed "Polish dominance" within the ECR for the disunity of the parties. This official told Politiko that Poland's ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) is one of the most powerful right-wing conservative forces. "There are complaints about the power of PiS in the European Parliament," the official said. "They are everywhere, they have too much power".

ECR says that PiS wants to preserve its status in the EP. They want leadership positions and plan to nominate their MP Kosmos Zlotovski for the candidate for the President of the EP. They want to remain attractive to parties like the largest group in the EP, the center-right European People's Party. "If they were to join forces with IS, that attraction would disappear."

One member of Orban's Fides party, which is closely related to PiS, said that the Polish party is still hesitant and does not want to be in the same group with certain parties. However, a source from Fides - which is not a member of either ECR or ID - said that it "definitely wants" the creation of a new group in the EP so that their voice can be heard more loudly in Europe. An IDF official summed up the situation by saying that "on a human level, these groups are not ready." "It's chaos between the French and the Poles. Why should we combine two seats? Who would lead then?

Different internal politics

While right-wing parties outwardly project a singular focus on fighting EU influence, they also send messages to potential supporters at home. This can lead them in different directions.

Le Pen, who ran again for the presidency of France, can claim that her trip to Warsaw is an example of "international diplomacy". She can show photos of herself talking to heads of government, all at a time when she needs to fend off rivals Eric Zemura - another right-wing pretender to the position of president who does not have her political experience.

For Orban, the meeting could bolster his credentials as one of Europe's most influential right-wingers.

Since his Fidesz left the EPP group in March, Orbán has been trying to strengthen ties with longtime friends in countries like Poland and Italy, and is looking for new allies. In these efforts, he reached out to those he had traditionally avoided. Among them is Marine Le Pen. Two years ago, Orban claimed that he would not join hands with Le Pen "because she is not in power". However, since Hungary is increasingly joining the EU and Orbán is expecting elections next year, it seems that he has changed his attitude.

Russia as a stumbling block

Franco-Polish tensions extend beyond parliamentary games. Russia is a big stumbling block in this relationship.

PiS is belligerent when it comes to Russia and regularly claims that the EU should more aggressively oppose revanchist Moscow. Recently, they immediately accused Russia of actually being behind the Belarusian activities of directing thousands of migrants to the EU border.

In France, Le Pen is more receptive to Russia. She called for warmer relations with Moscow and advocated the lifting of sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea. She traveled to Moscow and met with Vladimir Putin during her previous presidential campaign in 2017.

Similarly, Orban maintains warm relations with Russia, and Salvini also faced allegations that the League asked for money from Russia during the European elections.

Such disagreement makes it difficult for the parties to unite, even though they share the same rhetoric on issues such as migration.