Patriots for Europe National Conservative Bloc are Now a Force to Reckon With

Patriots for Europe founders Herbert Kickl (C), Orbán Viktor (R) and Andrej Babis (L) András Biró, researcher at the 21st Century Institute, in his latest rapid analysis, describes the causes and likely consequences of the political crisis that have

By: hungarytoday.hu

Jan 08 2025
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Patriots for Europe National C

Patriots for Europe founders Herbert Kickl (C), Orbán Viktor (R) and Andrej Babis (L)

András Biró, researcher at the 21st Century Institute, in his latest rapid analysis, describes the causes and likely consequences of the political crisis that have emerged from the failure of the recent Austrian left-wing coalition negotiations. The implications for the Hungarian government are direct and significant.

Political events in Austria have taken a 180-degree turn in the space of a few days, after coalition talks reached an impasse over the withdrawal of the liberal NEOS from the talks, and the resignation of Karl Nehammer, leader of the People’s Party (ÖVP), not only as head of government but also as party leader. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, fearing a further strengthening of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), was finally forced to run ahead and give the mandate to form a government to its leader Herbert Kickl, who has only been asked now to do so despite his party’s confident victory in the elections at the end of September. It is therefore highly likely that the strategy of the mainstream parties, based on a conspiracy to exclude the FPÖ from power, has failed, demonstrating that the Patriots for Europe member party has now become a decisive force in Austria.

Zuerst das Volk und dann der Kanzler! Heute zum Gespräch bei VdB pic.twitter.com/LFJyIkizrg
— FPÖ (@FPOE_TV) January 6, 2025

The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), led by Herbert Kickl, scored a historic 29% victory at the end of September (today polling at 35%), but in a highly controversial break with convention, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen has entrusted the task of forming a government not to him but to Karl Nehammer,

the leader of the second-placed People’s Party (ÖVP), who has been chancellor of Austria since 2021. Nehammer had already made it clear during his election campaign that he would be willing to form a government with the FPÖ only if Herbert Kickl gave up his ambitions to become chancellor. The ÖVP leader eventually entered into coalition talks with the Social Democrats and the Liberals, which, although they dragged on for more than three months, ultimately failed to produce results.

Christian Stocker, the party’s secretary general, said in a press conference that his party was ready to enter into coalition talks if invited by the FPÖ. In response to the change, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen was also forced to give up his earlier opposition and has already stated that “the ÖVP’s opposition to a coalition with the Freedom Party has eased”, opening up a new path. He also said that he would only give his blessing to Kickl’s chancellorship if human rights, media freedom and respect for the right to belong to the European Union in Austria were respected.

BREAKING: Incredible victory for right-wing FPÖ in Austria.
The party scored a first place showing in Styria, and increased its result by a shocking 17.9% from the last election.
Conservatives: -9.4
Greens: -6.0
Socialists: -1.4 pic.twitter.com/2SuVLH3vcv
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 24, 2024

From Alexander Van der Bellen’s initial decision not to entrust the winning party with forming Austria’s new government, the electorate perceived the practice of excluding the FPÖ from power as an emptying out of representative democracy.

In the September elections, voters clearly demonstrated their demand for change, the conspiracy to disregard this has already led to the erosion of the popularity of mainstream parties.

The rise of the FPÖ in Austria confirms a trend that has been developing for years, characterised by the rise of national sovereigntist parties. Under Viktor Orbán’s premiership, Fidesz-KDNP has led Hungary since 2010, in Italy the Brothers of Italy (FdI) led by Giorgia Meloni govern with a stable parliamentary majority with their sovereigntist allies (Lega, Forza Italia), while in the Netherlands the Party for Freedom (PVV) has also come to power. In Germany, with the attempted exclusion of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) from the political process, only minority parliaments are able to form in parts of the eastern half of the country, but the arbitrary quarantine policy of the mainstream is also leading to a crisis of the party system at national level.

In France, Marine Le Pen and the National Rally have also not yet come to power, but they have the capacity to overthrow governments. The Belgian Flemish Interest has also become capable of shaping the country’s politics in recent years, and it is the exclusionary attitude of the mainstream parties that is currently making it difficult to form a government. Although the ANO party, led by Andrej Babiš, who governed the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2021, was forced into opposition in the last elections, polls suggest it has a good chance of returning to power in this autumn’s elections. The majority of the parties listed above are members of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) alliance in the European Parliament, formed by ANO, Fidesz and FPÖ, which is increasingly successful in offering an alternative vision for Europe.

The hegemony of the mainstream parties is thus being challenged across Europe by national sovereigntist formations representing the will of the electorate, which is fundamentally changing European politics. The time has passed for the policy of cordons around national conservative movements, and the parties that apply it are now reaping the results of its counterproductive effect, as the rise of the FPÖ in Austria demonstrates.

(The original text has been edited and shortened by HT)

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