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Three months ahead of the elections to the European Parliament, scheduled between 23 and 26 May 2019, the right of the continent and its leader Manfred Weber are weakened by the campaign of the Hungarian populist Viktor Orban against the president of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.
On the streets of Budapest, on Wednesday, February 20, posters showing the face of Jean-Claude Juncker sneering and supporting immigration. Denouncing " false information " about European Union policy, Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas lamented the Hungarian government's campaign, which he said was " beyond comprehension ". The strong man of Budapest continues to multiply the provocations against an embarrassed European right which displays its fragility.
The EPP first party of the European Parliament, a status pending
Last autumn, however, the European People's Party (EPP) wanted Viktor Orban to keep a low profile during the European elections. The elected representatives of the European right seemed tired of displaying their divisions about the Hungarian prime minister. Worried, too, in front of the puzzle that already loomed - which was confirmed by the first polls.
In the European elections next May, the EPP's first-party status of the European Parliament could hold by a single thread. Or more exactly, to the seats obtained by Viktor Orban. To exclude it would therefore mean losing influence, some party officials believe, or even throwing themselves into the arms of the extreme right. Moreover, the nationalists dream of it, and for weeks have been making court to the Hungarian Prime Minister.
On the other hand, not excluding it would be tantamount to throwing the democratic values of the right to the brink, according to other party cadres. And start a little more credibility of the EPP. To maintain power next June, the European right will need to build a coalition with other parties.
►Review: The European People's Party looks at the Orban case