New Spanish far-right party negotiating with ‘at least three groups’ in European Parliament

4 months ago 18

New “ultra” leader Alvise Pérez from the youngest Spanish far-right party Se Acabó la Fiesta (SALF/The Party is Over) declared on Tuesday (15 July) that his party is negotiating with at least three groups in the European Parliament while criticising von der Leyen’s “Soviet-like” European Union.

SALF was the big surprise of the 9 June European elections in Spain, as the new far-right formation won three seats, one of them the anti-establishment agitator Pérez himself.

At the moment SALF has not said which far-right political group it will join, following rumours last week that Perez’s party would join the new Europe of Sovereign Nations, led by Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Pérez confirmed that his party is currently negotiating with “at least three different (political) groups,” within the European Parliament.

He added that he will announce his decision in the coming days, depending upon each group’s anti-corruption commitments, and their options for increasing SALF’s influence.

The party’s entry into the Spanish political arena – albeit only in Brussels – could pose problems for its far-right rival VOX. The third force in the Spanish parliament, and also third in the European elections, as they share similar views, for example their ‘hard stance’ on migration.

Since last week, VOX has been a member of the new far-right group Patriots for Europe, led by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, after leaving the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).

Controversial positions

Speaking to the media in Brussels on Tuesday 15 July, Pérez said that SALF represents “more than 800,000 Spaniards fed up with the way Europe (the EU) works, especially in terms of migration.”

He particularly attacked Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission, which he described as, “a government that looks more and more like the Soviet Union than a true Europe of nations.”

The controversial far-right leader assured that his future task as an MEP is not incompatible with working towards the next general elections in Spain, which should be called in 2027.

In the same vein, Pérez explained that he will try to combine his work in Brussels with the creation of a robust national structure for SALF.

“What we want as a priority is to gain access to Moncloa (the seat of Spanish power) or for Moncloa to depend on us in the formation of a government, and be able to kick (Spanish Prime Minister) Pedro Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) out of the Spanish government as a priority. So as soon as general elections are called I will resign as an MEP and I will run in the next general elections,” stated Pérez.

“The idea is basically to be able to combine my actions as an MEP with the implementation of the structure we need to create the political party with which we will run in the next general elections in Spain”, he added, EFE reported.

[Edited by Rajnish Singh]