Vox quits Meloni’s ECR and joins Orbán’s ‘Patriots for Europe’

Spain’s far-right Vox party, which currently has six MEPs, has officially announced that it’s leaving the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group to join a potential new formation led by Orbán’s Fidesz party. 

Orbán’s alliance already includes the Czech ANO, the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the Portuguese Chega – but there are rules for becoming a political group in the European Parliament, and the Patriots for Europe have yet to meet another criterion.

While they meet the threshold of at least 23 MEPs, they do not emanate from at least seven member states – Orbán still needs two more nationalities to fulfil this condition to constitute his Patriots group. 

The last-minute move reduces the gap between Meloni’s ECR group on 78 MEPs – currently the third political force – and the Liberals, with 76 MEPs.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal said the decision was a response to the ‘historic opportunity’ to fight against a coalition of centre-right, socialist and far-left forces. 

The Spanish far-right party expressed its gratitude to the ECR group and, in particular, its friendship with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her party, Fratelli d’Italia. 

“Giorgia Meloni will always be a partner, friend and ally of Vox,” the party stated in a press release. 

But they ditched her after the ECR group held its constitutive meeting this Wednesday, when Vox MEP Hermann Tertsch was elected vice-president of the party. 

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán also tried to woo Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) to join his ‘Patriots for Europe’ alliance, but to no avail, Euronews reported on Wednesday.