Europe’s far-right parties form alliance

October 25, 2009

BUDAPEST (JTA) -- The main radical national movements of the European Union formed a political alliance.

Gabor Vona, the leader of Hungary's far-right Jobbik Party, made the announcement Saturday in Budapest.

The Alliance of European Nationalist Movements will be registered either in Brussels or Luxembourg, Vona said during weekend celebrations honoring the anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution against Soviet rule.

Along with Jobbik, the group’s founding members are the National Front of Belgium, the National Democratic Party of Sweden, the French Front National and the Italian Fiamma Tricolore. Negotiations were progressing with several other prospective members, Vona said, including parties in Austria, Britain, Spain and Portugal.

A nine-point declaration signed by the founders rejects any initiative in support of a federal Europe. It also calls for protection against “religious, political, economic or financial imperialism.”

The far-right parties have made substantial gains in recent European elections by exploiting the rise of anti-Semitism in a climate of economic insecurity generated by the recession.

Jobbik activists were highly visible at many Hungarian celebrations marking the failed revolution, donning the uniforms of the banned paramilitary National Guard and the recently formed Guard Gendarmerie. Both organizations are modeled on military forces that murdered thousands of Jews during World War II.

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Europe’s far-right parties form alliance

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