Orbán’s far-right Patriots for Europe sidelined over committees, blocking its influence
The political group is now the third largest in the European Parliament – but without senior committee posts its power is likely to be limited, ana...
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The Parliament Magazine
The far right in the European Parliament has been assembled anew. Most of what was the Identity and Democracy group (ID) has morphed into Patriots for Europe, which was established by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the wake of last month’s European elections.

But when MEPs convened Tuesday to vote for the chairs of Parliament’s key committees, the Patriots’ 84 members came up short. The parliamentary group failed to secure a single leadership role for the 20 committees in question.

The group is calling foul.

“This is against the rule of law. They are disrespecting EP rules, democracy and even their own gender rules. Outrageous!” Kinga Gál, Vice-President of both Orbán’s Fidesz and the Patriots for Europe, posted on X on Tuesday after the European People's Party (EPP) blocked her group obtaining a vice-chair role on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

An end to parliamentary exile

Almost overnight, the recent reconfiguration let the Patriots leapfrog Parliament’s other far-right force, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), making it the third-largest group in the EP. It got there by attracting prominent far-right players, such as Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom from the Netherlands and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally from France.

“It's a relative success for the Hungarian prime minister, because he was able to demonstrate again that he's a trendsetter. He influences key, high-level European processes,” Daniel Hegedüs, a senior fellow for central Europe at the German Marshall Fund, told The Parliament.

Founding the Patriots also ended Orbán’s own parliamentary exile. His Fidesz party had been without a group since 2021, when it quit the centre-right EPP that was on the verge of kicking it out.

‘Cordon sanitaire’ largely upheld

Still, analysts widely expect the Patriots' influence will be limited. In addition to failing to nab a committee chair post on Tuesday, Orbán’s new faction fell short in obtaining a vice-president position in the EP during last week’s opening plenary session.

In all, an array of far-right and nationalist MEPs now hold 187 seats in the new Parliament. That includes 25 — two more than the minimum required to form a group — from another new faction calling itself Europe of Sovereign Nations. It is made up mostly of MEPs from the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which was booted from ID before the June elections for being too toxic.

The Patriots might be third, but the group is still far behind the EPP’s 188 seats and the 136 from the centre-left Socialists & Democrats (S&D). The Patriots make up about 12 per cent of the Parliament’s 720 seats. Orbán’s Fidesz has 11 of them.

“With that proportion, they would certainly not be in the situation to be able to block anything,” Hegedüs said.

As expected, the Greens and liberal Renew Europe groups, though diminished in last month’s elections, joined forces with the EPP and S&D to enforce the cordon sanitaire — a catch-all term for containing the far right.

But the EPP – led by recently reelected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – has not applied the cordon to the ECR, which walked away with the chair of the Committee on Budgets and Agriculture and Rural Development, for instance.

Ukraine defenders vs. Putin sympathizers

Policy differences within the Patriots could also reduce its power. One major issue is support for Russia over Ukraine, amid Moscow's ongoing war of aggression in the country. Although neither country is mentioned in the group’s manifesto, the Patriots say the group is “committed to peace and dialogue, while ready to defend itself against any threat.”

Orbán’s sympathies for Russian President Vladimir Putin are well known, underscored by a recent trip to Moscow that sparked criticism from other EU leaders. Spain’s Vox, which switched from the ECR, has positioned itself as rather pro-Ukraine. Wilders reiterated support for Ukraine in a post announcing his party was joining the Patriots.

“From that point of view, I believe that this group itself will not always be on the same page, which of course also reduces its influence,” Philipp Lausberg, a policy analyst with the European Policy Centre, a Brussels-based think tank, told The Parliament.

Migration is likely a different story, with widespread agreement across the far right on tightening borders that could see a convergence with the ECR and Europe of Sovereign Nations.

Where the Patriots' influence may hold sway

The Patriots may have better luck outside the EP, with the “opportunity to exert influence through the Council,” Hegedüs said, referring to the European Council on which national leaders like Orbán sit and the Council of the EU, which Hungary currently chairs.

Then there is power at the national level. Parties belonging to the Patriots that govern member states might rise this year. Austria will hold legislative elections in September. The far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) is currently leading the polls there at about 28 per cent.

“It's a source of influence, even if they are definitely far below a blocking minority,” Hegedüs said.