The victory of the populist and pro-Russian candidate Robert Fico in Brussels has upset his defamation of support for Ukraine and xenophobic and homophobic positions, but he directly challenges the “socialist family” to which his party, SMER, belongs. The Socialists have not ruled out taking action against Fico, including sanctions or expulsion from the European Socialist Party (PES) and the Group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, but they will wait and see how it unfolds. If he reaches an agreement to come to power after gaining 23% support in the elections.
The idea defended by the vice-president of the European Parliament’s Socialists, Pedro Marquez, is whether they want the “rhetoric” of the election campaign, in which he went so far as to confirm that the war had begun. “Ukrainian Nazis and Fascists” who link immigration to terrorism and oppose same-sex marriage become “acts”. Although he did not admit that it is “very worrying”, he recalled that there is still no government in Slovakia. Only then will they act if rumors turn into enforcement actions.
“If this rhetoric continues and is used in the government, I am guaranteed to start the process (of suspension or expulsion),” PES leader Stefan Löfven said in an interview, according to the EFE agency.
“Possible future government rule of law flaws, in support of Ukraine, in our positions with the LGTBIQ+ rights or in coalitions with the far right will be specific situations that could lead to a sanctions process against this party and eventual expulsion. of PES,” said Marquez at a press conference in Strasbourg.
The positions of Fico, who also opposes the mandatory distribution of refugees, are similar to the positions of the ultranationalist Viktor Orbán, which Márquez himself mentioned to make it clear that the Socialists will not behave like the European People’s Party, which supported Orbán until 2021. And in the end it was he who abandoned her to prevent her banishment. “We are not going to reset our feet for ten years, as the European People’s Party did with Orbán,” the Socialist MEP said after the party’s leader, Manfred Weber, asked him to explain his position on Fico.
Fico’s eventual rise to power has worried European partners at a time when the unity of support for Ukraine threatens to fracture after Poland clashed with Volodymyr Zelenskiy over a grain conflict and Orbán threatened not to support his international policies (when he must decide on December 27 whether to join the EU). to start accession talks) for the treatment of Hungary’s minority, in addition to freezing 500 million euros in arms, for blacklisting Hungarian OTC Bank as companies that help Russia. Concerns are also growing that the United States will lose steam in helping Ukraine, despite the commitment shown by Joe Biden.
Source: El Diario
