French far-right politician Marine Le Pen says she would like to work closer with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.
“This is the moment to unite,” Le Pen told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera during an election campaign in northern France last weekend.
Le Pen’s National Rally is expected to defeat French President Emmanuel Macron’s party in the European Parliament elections in just under two weeks, part of a wider far-right wave in several EU countries.
“If we are successful, we can become the second largest group in the European Parliament. I think such an opportunity should not be missed,” Le Pen said in comments published on Sunday.
She and Meloni agreed on the most important issues, Le Pen said when asked what she had to say to the Italian prime minister who takes office in 2022. An alliance “would be very useful,” Le Pen said.
The two politicians belong to two different political groups in the European Parliament.
Le Pen’s National Rally is with the right-wing group Identity and Democracy (ID), while Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, which has neo-fascist roots, belongs to the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).
Finally, a large divide emerged in the ID group as a result of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The trigger was the AfD’s leading candidate for the election, Maximilian Krah, who said that not all members of the SS, a Nazi paramilitary group, were criminals.
That led to denunciations from Le Pen’s party, which is trying to shake off its anti-Semitic reputation, and ultimately to the expulsion of the AfD from the ID group.
Observers believe that Le Pen wants to get closer to Meloni and her party to forge new alliances in Europe after the split in the ID group.
