The European Union elects a new parliament on May 26. We talked with European journalists and NGOs from different European countries to get a picture of the European right wing. We asked them how their local right wing parties want to change the European Union and which marginalized group is hated the most.
Our questions were answered by Natalia Tarmas, Board member of the Committee for the Defence of Democracy, Komitet Obrony Demokracji.
What right-wing parties are active in your country/participating in the European elections?
Firstly, the ruling party – Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice Party). Apart from them, there is the Kukiz’15 party led by a former singer Paweł Kukiz. And lastly, the Konfederacja (Confederation), a coalition comprised of anti-abortion, nationalist, and anti-EU politicians, including one of the most infamous EU parlamentarians from Poland – Janusz Korwin-Mikke who on many occasions stated that he would like the EU to disappear.
What are they campaigning for/what is their political agenda?
Law and Justice party has pretended to be pro-European in the past few weeks, however they actually are trying to get as many politicians as possible to the EU Parliament before they could be tried in Poland for crimes against our democracy. Kukiz’15 party is advertising itself as anti-system but can never actually explain what system and what to do in its place. They are also anti-EU and often side with the nationalists in Poland. Confederation is simply against EU and this is literally what their agenda is about – to destroy the EU from within.
What is their main topic for the European elections?
Law and Justice: „Poland as the centre of Europe“. Kukiz’15: „Poland in Europe, Europe in Poland“. Confederation: Protecting traditional values that are destroyed in EU by gender, LGBT, and leftist propaganda (propaganda is the term describing all three words).
What marginalised groups does their campaign oppose the most?
Every election, there is a different enemy for the Law and Justice party – previously it was the „muslim immigrants who carry diseases and will rape all our women and implement the sharia law in Poland the moment they are allowed here“. Now, this party is focusing primarily on the LGBTQ community that they believe is a threat to all that Poland stands for in their minds – religion and tradition. Kukiz’15 is very open about hating muslim people but the members of this party are generally opposed to anyone who is different to them. Confederation is very nationalist-based, therefore they are against anyone that is not white and Polish. What is more, the most prominent Mr. Korwin-Mikke has openly spoken about women not needing equal pay and that they need to stay at home in the kitchen because they are more stupid than men.
How do they propose to change the EU?
Law and Justice wants to get back to tradition and religion to clean the rotten EU. Kukiz’15 wants to destroy the system, again without any clear idea how. Confederation wants the EU to be destroyed.
How good do you think their chances are in the elections?
Law and Justice will definitely be able to place many politicians in the EU Parliament. They have the national TV and radio stations spread anti-EU propaganda that goes in favour of their campaign. The other two parties most probably will not be able to reach the required amount of percentage to put anyone in the Parliament.
