Europe of Nations and Freedom

This chapter explains the formation of the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group containing Front National, Northern League, Austrian Freedom party, Flemish Vlaams Belang and the Dutch Party for Freedom. Based on expert survey data and interviews, it shows how, while these parties have long held compatible positions on key issues, cooperation between them all has only become possible over the last decade, in part through the role of new party leaders such as Marine Le Pen. The chapter argues that the ENF’s creation reflects a shared desire to create a lasting European group composed of radical right populist parties unashamed of their commonalities. Finally, it discusses how the ENF parties have presented themselves not only as defenders of their own nations, but of a wider “European” people against the supposedly increasing threats posed by EU elites and dangerous “others” (in particular Muslims).

Radical Right Populists and Group Formation in the European Parliament

This chapter first discusses in depth the book’s core concept of “radical right populist”, before examining the history of co-operation (and mostly non-cooperation) between radical right populists in the European Parliament. It sets out the main theories, in particular policy congruence, which have been used to explain why parties form groups in the European Parliament. It then looks at how these theories might apply to radical right populist parties. Finally, the chapter presents the data and methods used in the study. These include Chapel Hill Expert Survey data, EP group finance and voting behaviour data, as well as interviews conducted with representatives and officials from a wide range of radical right populist parties and their allies.

From International Populism to Transnational Populism

The final chapter summarises the book’s main findings and their significance. It then considers the future for radical right populists at European level and the factors for and against the creation of a lasting, unique, ideologically homogenous radical right populist group. These include the potentially unifying effects of the post-Brexit withdrawal of the UK Conservatives and UKIP, and divisive issues such as the very diverse attitudes to Russia and Vladimir Putin found among radical right populists. The chapter argues that, given greater public support for EU membership and the fact that the chief concern of radical right populists, namely immigration, is perceived first and foremost as a European issue, radical right populists are likely in the coming years to continue to mix “international populism” and “transnational populism”, by presenting themselves not just as saviours of their nations, but of Europe.

Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy

This chapter examines the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) group which in 2014 contained two radical right populist parties, UKIP and the Sweden Democrats, alongside the populist (but not radical right) Italian Five-Star Movement. Like the previous chapter, it uses Chapel Hill data and interviews to explain the group’s formation. The chapter shows that the Sweden Democrats also conform to the “respectable radicals” model, seeing themselves on a journey from local pariah status to respectability via their European alliances. UKIP, however, was less concerned with these domestic respectability benefits. Its main aim, once satisfied that an alliance with a specific foreign party would not damage its reputation at home, was to construct what UKIP interviewees themselves called “a marriage of convenience” in order to secure parliamentary group spoils (financial and administrative resources, along with the visibility offered by extra parliamentary speaking time).

Radical Right Populists Inside and Outside the European Parliament

This chapter analyses whether radical right populist parties in the European Parliament groups worked together, and the extent to which they were engaged in the EP’s legislative decision-making process. It then looks at the public face of the groups outside parliament, by investigating through press releases whether (and how) the parties sought to use their alliances and fellow group members in national election campaigns. It also examines the patterns of public events staged by the groups and their connected “Europarties” to see whether they actively promoted their alliances. Finally, the chapter discusses changes in the groups’ composition over the course of the 2014-19 legislature, focusing on the Sweden Democrats’ July 2018 decision to leave the EFDD and join the ECR.

European Conservatives and Reformists

This chapter focuses on the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, which in 2014 accepted the radical right populists of the Danish People’s Party and the Finns Party, alongside more moderate centre-right parties such as the UK Conservatives. To analyse the reasons behind the group’s composition, it uses Chapel Hill Expert Survey data on party positions in addition to interviews with leading figures from the main ECR parties. The chapter proposes the “respectable radicals” theory of group formation. In other words, radical parties like the Danish People’s Party and the Finns Party play a two-level game in which they value perceived domestic “office” and “votes” benefits of European alliances more than “policy congruence”. In particular, being seen to sit with the UK Conservatives was considered advantageous by the Danish and Finnish parties while, for the UK Conservatives, these parties’ lack of extreme right historical baggage made them acceptable allies.

International Populism

This opening chapter sets out the book’s key questions: How can we explain the different choices radical right populist parties have made regarding the groups they join in the European Parliament? How have they behaved in the parliament within their groups? How do they use their group identities outside parliament? What do these group choices and actions at European level tell us about the past, present and futures of radical right populists, both domestically and internationally? The chapter then introduces the main concepts used in the book and briefly explains the quantitative and qualitative data used to answer these questions, the outline of chapters and some of the main findings.