Established parties are abandoning their moral principles by adopting the far-right’s discourse on immigration, declares the leading European candidate for the Left (GUE).
Walter Baier, head of the European list of the Left (GUE), launches an appeal to the President of the European Commission. He asks Ursula von der Leyen, favorite to obtain a second term, to keep in mind the “huge responsibility” which she carries in her overtures to radical right parties.
In an interview with Euronews on Thursday, Walter Baier criticized the German official for what he described as a desire, motivated by fear, to associate with radical right parties after June’s European elections.
“It’s a matter of principle. The fact of having abandoned the idea of a sanitary cordon is a huge responsibility“, underlines Walter Baier, in reference to the political firewall which has prevented traditional parties from allying themselves with the far right.
He believes that the “fear“traditional parties of”to confront” to extremists was the main reason for the rise of populist parties before the decisive vote in June.
Ursula von der Leyen last month did not close the door to possible collaboration between her center-right group, the European People’s Party (EPP), and the ultranationalist European Conservatives and Reformists (CRE) group – which includes Vox (Spain), Law and Justice (PiS) and Fratelli d’Italia of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – but she specifies that a partnership “depends a lot on the composition of Parliament, and who is in which group“.
The outgoing president and sources in her close circle assure that they will only build bridges with pro-Ukraine and pro-EU partners within the CRE group, such as Fratelli d’Italia and the Czech Prime Minister’s ODS party Petr Fiala.
This prompted centrist and left-wing groups in Parliament, including Walter Baier’s radical left, to sign a statement in which they undertake to “never cooperate or form a coalition with far-right and radical parties at any level“.
However, Geert Wilders’ far-right party concluded on Wednesday a government coalition agreement in the Netherlands with liberals belonging to the Renew Europe group.
Walter Baier, from the Austrian Communist Party, says the migration agenda is a prime example of how Ursula von der Leyen’s right is normalizing the far right and allowing it to integrate into the mainstream.
“The most recent proof of this is the migration pact adopted by the European Parliament and the European Council, which is in fact the negation of the individual right to asylum.“, he denounces.
“This is nothing more than a legitimization of what the far right is saying, and it is a mistake. This is a strategic error. This is a moral error. Strategically, this is a mistake, because it amounts to adopting the discourse of the extreme right. And what about the humanist aspect? It’s simply a shame“, he continues.
The pact, adopted after years of tough negotiations, faced opposition from far-right parties, who believe it is not strong enough to reduce the number of migrants, and far left, which denounces an attack on the fundamental rights of asylum seekers.
Political dynamics appear favorable to far-right parties across Europe. They could win the vote in seven member states, including Austria where the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) is credited with 28% of the vote.
“It’s a corrupt party, it’s a neo-fascist party, but it’s treated like it’s a normal party, and that’s fundamentally wrong“, denounces Walter Baier, “these are not normal parties“.
Despite growing dissatisfaction with political parties located more centrally, far-left parties do not seem to be able to convince voters. According to current projections, the Left should only win 32 seats in the June election, a loss of seven elected representatives and would then remain the smallest group in the chamber.
“Double standards” on Gaza
Walter Baier judges that Ursula von der Leyen also tarnished the EU’s reputation on the international stage by adopting a stance of unwavering solidarity with Israel over the war in Gaza.
“His behavior is typical of the policy of double standards“, he explains, “he is inadequate (…) and he is not honest. “
“Accusing all those who criticize the current Israeli government of being anti-Semitic is wrong, it is unjust, it is unfair. This is contrary to history and reason. Generally speaking, she did very badly.“.
ADVERTISEMENT“This kind of double standard discredits the European Union in southern countries“, he continues.
While the commission chair has been harshly criticized for her reluctance to urge Israel to exercise restraint in Gaza, she has made clear that an assault on the city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are refugees, would constitute a line red and would have consequences.
But Walter Baier believes that these words are not “credible” if they are not accompanied by concrete measures.
Ireland and Spain are calling on the Union to review its trade agreement with the Jewish state in order to put pressure on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from carrying out operations in the Gaza Strip.
But these proposals never managed to gain unanimous support from the 27 EU member states.
ADVERTISEMENT“We have to stop this“, pleads Walter Baier, “we should not talk about words and quarrel about words. We should focus on ending the massacre of these men and women in Gaza“.
We need a “ceasefire” in Ukraine
The leader of the radical left is also showing great caution regarding the war in Ukraine. He says the European Union should do everything to support Kyiv’s efforts to resist Russian aggression, while calling for broad demilitarization of Europe.
“European Union member states spent 270 billion euros on arms (in 2023). Compare that to Russia’s arms spending, for example, which is around 100 billion euros, and they are at war“, specifies Walter Baier.
“No one can therefore say that we are not sufficiently equipped. And we wonder if it’s enough or not. We have 15,000 nuclear warheads in the world, which would allow us to destroy the world 150 times“, he continues, “is it enough or not? “
While recognizing that Ukraine has the right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, he also supports the prospect of sitting down at the table to negotiate peace with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
ADVERTISEMENT“We believe that it is time to create conditions for peace, start negotiations, establish a ceasefire and achieve a sovereign and secure Ukraine through political means“, he explains.
“Because it is obvious that the solution can no longer be found on the battlefield“.
