Even as Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko listed his country’s European choice among the top priorities of his administration – the continent’s other major election Sunday evening showed some European Union citizens are rethinking their own European choices: Anti-EU parties gained significant ground in European parliamentary elections in France, Greece, the U.K., Austria and Denmark.
The European
Parliament has greater powers than ever before, including a say in the granting
foreign aid and the ability to veto European legislation. With that in mind, where
do the incoming Euroskeptics come down on the Ukraine crisis? With one possible exception, many of the
victors in Strasbourg have records supporting Moscow’s position.
France: The National Front
The far-right National
Front of Marine Le Pen came out on top of French elections – scoring close to
25 percent of the vote. It is the first time that The National Front has taken
first place in a nationwide election.
In April, Le Pen
visited Moscow to criticize E.U. policy during the Ukraine crisis: “I’m
surprised a Cold War on Russia has been declared in the European Union,” said
Le Pen, according to Interfax. She added that the tensions were the product of Russophobic
campaigns by certain E.U. member states and were not in line with France’s
economic interests.
In an interview with
the Russian newspaper Vzyglyad, Le Pen stated that there was “no point” for
Ukraine to join the EU, criticized the French foreign minister for a meeting
with Euromaidan representatives, asking rhetorically whether international law
no longer held meaning.
Following the Russian
Federation’s annexation of Crimea, a National Front spokesperson stated that
“Crimea is historically part of Mother Russia.” As the Kyiv Post reported, Le
Pen’s party was among the small group of international observers that lent
their approval to the Crimean separatist referendum.
Le Pen also said that
she favored a federal system and broad autonomy for Ukraine’s eastern regions,
which would allow them “to determine their destiny independently,” reported
Interfax.
Greece:
Syriza and Golden Dawn
In Greece, the left-wing
Syriza led the vote, with over 26 percent. The far-right Golden Dawn placed
third, with close to 10 percent, meaning Golden Dawn will enter the parliament
for the first time ever. Despite their locations on the political spectrum, both
Syriza and Golden Dawn rejected the legitimacy of Kyiv’s interim government and
accused the EU of provoking Russia.
Following Le Pen,
Alexis Tsipras, the head of Syriza, visited Moscow in May, according to Greek
press service Enet. While there, he urged Greece not to recognize Kyiv’s
interim government, saying that it was “a regression for us to see fascism and
neonazis entering European governments again and for this to be accepted by the
EU.” Tsipras also vocally opposed EU sanctions against Russia, calling Moscow
an important partner economically. Speaking on unsanctioned referendums in East
Ukraine, Tsipras said his party believed “the Ukrainian people should be
sovereign and should decide with a democratic manner and with referendums on
its future.”
Golden Dawn took a
different tact in condemning Kyiv’s interim government. In a press release published
on its website, it warns of “deadly risks to Hellenism and Orthodoxy in Ukraine
and violent attacks against our compatriots …” which the party attributes to
Americans, Germans and Zionists working with a Nazi Party in Ukraine.
United Kingdom: UKIP
The UK Independence
Party, or UKIP, came out on top of U.K. polls, winning over 27 percent of the vote.
UKIP leader Nigel
Farage has said that the Euromaidan protests put “blood on its hands” of the
European Union and that it further demonstrated the E.U.’s imperialist
ambitions, reported the BBC.
Farage also told GQ
magazine that Russian President Putin was the current world leader that he most
admired, but added “as an operator, not as a human being.” Following these
controversial remarks, The Guardian ran a story about Farange’s frequent
appearances on the Kremlin’s state-run broadcaster Russia Today. The article
noted that of 17 appearances since 2010 viewed by the Guardian, not once did
Farage issue a word of criticism of Russian democracy.
Denis Pushilin, head
of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, expressed his admiration for
UKIP in a letter to Farange in April, The Daily Mail reported. Pushilin asked
for UKIP’s support of the Donetsk independence referendum, citing the city’s
Welsh founder as proof of a “special relationship” between Donetsk and the
United Kingdom.
Austria: The Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party won
20 percent of Austrian voters, a significant leap in its representation. Its
head, Heinz-Christian Sache, has been a strong opponent of E.U. and U.S.
sanctions against Russia. According to Der Spiegel, Sache described Brussels as
the stooge of America on the Ukraine crisis and he condemned the “encirclement”
of Moscow. Sache has elsewhere defended Putin personally, calling him “a pure
democrat.”
Denmark: Danish People’s Party
The Danish People’s
Party, known for its anti-immigration stance, won approximately 27 percent of
Denmark’s vote, doubling its seats. However, the party’s leader, Morten Messerschmidt,
has not been a vocal proponent of Moscow’s position during the Ukraine crisis.
In an interview with the Danish magazine Raeson, he said he did not think that
the Crimea referendum had been conducted properly with international observers,
but added a legitimate referendum might have shown a majority of Crimeans
supported the same result. In January, a Russian human rights report singled
out the Danish People’s Party specifically to condemn its xenophobia and
anti-immigration positions.
William Schreiber is a Coca-Cola World Scholar
at Yale University.
