Swedish Liberals could be expelled from Renew over far-right cooperation

6 months ago 20

Sweden’s Centre Party will push for the Swedish Liberals to be expelled from their common Renew Europe group in the European Parliament after the EU elections if they continue cooperating with the far-right Sweden Democrats at the national level, the party’s MEP Emma Wiesner said on Tuesday.

In Sweden, the Liberals are part of the ruling coalition with the centre-right Moderates of the EPP and the Christian Democrats, who are supported without participation by the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD/ECR).

“If we as liberals do not stand up for liberal values, who will do it then? The time for empty words is over,” said Wiesner during a press conference on Tuesday.

In May, several parties in the European Parliament, including the Liberals and the Centre Party, signed a declaration promising not to cooperate or form coalitions “with far-right and radical parties at any level”, and according to Wiesner, it is precisely this declaration that the Sweden Democrats are not respecting.

“I don’t see that they meet the requirements in the declaration as it looks today,” she said.

The demand not to cooperate with nationalists or right-wing extremists is one of the Centre Party’s five priorities in the EU election campaign.

The party also wants to make it possible to exclude countries that do not respect democratic principles from the EU – something that is not possible today and would require changes to the EU treaties.

According to Centre Party leader Muharrem Demirok, TV4’s recent revelations of a troll farm used by the Sweden Democrat to spread social media content favourable to its views, sometimes at the expense of its coalition allies, played a major role in the party’s decision.

“SD is not a party like all the others. It is a party that attacks free and independent media and uses troll factories to attack opponents. The declaration must play a role there,” Demirok said.

It is not the first time that the cooperation of the Swedish Liberals has caused a stir, as former Renew Europe MEP Durand officially left the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament to join the S&D (Socialists and Democrats) due to major personal disagreements over the Swedish Liberals’ presence in the group.

Renew’s internal procedures clearly state that MEPs can be expelled by secret ballot, but the motion must be tabled by the group’s presidency, bureau, or a group of MEPs representing at least five national delegations and a third of the entire group.

However, according to Europe Elects’ latest poll, it may never come to that, as the Swedish Liberals are expected to lose their only MEP in the next elections.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)