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Tories partner up with the far right in Brussels
Friday 14th September 2018 | Jake
The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the Tory-led right wing faction in European parliament, welcomed its newest members in July, the Sweden Democrats (SD). SD are a political party formed of neo-Nazis and founded by former SS veterans (Nazi secret service).
The SD made considerable gains in Sweden’s election and has been attempting to organise a coalition with the Moderates, although the Moderates are unwilling to jump into bed with the populists. No such worries crossed the Tory’s minds in Brussels, where the SD have sat side by side with Conservative MEPs for over two months.
The more members an MEP (Member of European Parliament) group has, the more funding it receives from the EU. With Brexit fast approaching the ECR stands to lose 19 Tory MEPs. Fearful of their budget shrinking, the ECR MEPs voted in the SD by a margin of 46-7. Only two Tories were absent from the vote, meaning at least ten voted for the far-right Swedes.
The SD have attempted to appear more palatable to voters by softening their image in recent years, but they remain vehemently anti-immigrant and argue immigrants should go back to their country of origin. The party has become a haven for white-supremacists and neo-Nazis in Sweden, stoking the flames of the anti-immigration movement with their brand of fear tactics and falsities.
Although the Tory MEPs will soon leave the EU and subsequently the ECR, it raises troubling doubts as to the sort of alliances the incumbent government will be making post-Brexit.
