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European liberals seek alliance with France's Macron for European elections

 

FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron attends a joint news conference with Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte at Bourglinster castle in Luxembourg September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

 

PARIS (Reuters) - The leader of the liberal group in the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt said on Sunday he is seeking an alliance with French President Emmanuel Macron's political party for the European elections in May in a bid to counter populists.

 

In an interview published by French newspaper Ouest France, the former Belgian prime minister said he is ready for the European liberals and La Republique en Marche, the party created by Macron, to build an alternative to populism.

 

Asked about an alliance, Christophe Castaner, the head of La Republique en Marche, dismissed Verhoftsadt's comments. "We are not ready for an alliance," he told Reuters on Sunday.

 

As Italian and Hungarian leaders have met and stressed their common vision, pro-European liberal parties intend to fight back ahead of European Parliament elections in May.

 

"The fight in 2019 will be a fight between the nationalist populists on one side and a pro-European alternative," Verhofstadt told Ouest France.

 

The liberal leader said each party would campaign together with common proposals but keep their own identities. "The goal is to create a decisive group in the future parliament, that would be a tool to stop the nationalist tide," he said.

 

The fourth largest group in the European Parliament, with 68 MPs out of 751, is courting the newcomer on the European stage to join its ranks and gain clout after the May elections.

 

This summer, Castaner toured Europe to seek allies ahead of the elections. He had a meeting with Verhofstadt last Tuesday.

 

Eight months ahead of the vote, Macron has positioned himself as the main opponent to European nationalists. On Thursday he called on the European Popular Party, the conservative group in Parliament to clarify its position, saying it cannot have Angela Merkel and Hungary's Viktor Orban under the same banner.

 

(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Julie Carriat; editing by David Evans)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-09-10

[Ulic]

I am a little confused by the term Populism. Is it not democracy in action. Whether you are a conservative, a liberal, a socialist, or communist. The party which sells its platform to the electorate and thus a mandate to rule has the popular platform. Is Populism a euphemism for right-wing anti-immigrant platforms. Are US Republicans populists?  The Democrats won the popular vote in the last election but not the electoral college.  Why does that make them Populists, they won the popular vote?   

[arithai12]

Populism is how you call democracy when they give you the boot in an election.

[Sir Dude]

Yeah, you can see the institutional EU liberal elite are getting worried, and rightly so. This present EU lot like to call it things like "populism" or "nationalists" etc. as those words have negative connotations, whereas really it is indeed, as mentioned, just democracy. Democracy is about people voting for what they want and then getting it...not only voting for a prescribed side of the political spectrum/question/idea each time, and if anything else comes about, then deriding it and telling everyone you chose the wrong thing. Democracy and elections have consequences, period, as we have amply seen recently...much to the consternation of those who have held sway for so long.

 

This is only the start...upheaval/change is on the way whether people like it or not. The liberal overlords have had it their way for far too long and blown it...plus now also feel entitled to never-ending rule on their terms no matter what. What did they think would eventually happen? Did they think the population would be docile forever and continue to lap up their BS? Wakeup calls are on the way. I guess Verhofstadt, Macron and their ilk never bothered to think about why it has got to this point...no-one to blame but themselves and their political cohorts (past and present). Personally, I'd like to see a return to center ground politics rather than this rabid hard right or left nonsense we see everywhere now...not too hot and not too cold, as that is were success and harmony will have the greatest chance of flourishing. The extremes will only deliver failure and people in general need to calm down, not be brainwashed on social media and accept the natural differences of opinion many people hold due to their circumstances. Everyone is going nuts imo.