The goal is to connect the different conservative parties on the continent, so that they could act as a “superblock”, Bannon told news portal The Daily Beast.
Dringende Frage: Was tun Sie da jetzt rechtlich bzgl Aufenthalt!? @HeikoMaas Wir wollen keine Manipulation der #EU -Wahlen! Kein Arbeitsvisum !? Als Tourist kann er ja nun nicht mehr kommen! #SteveBannon https://t.co/6VFoqURrlb
— Renate Künast (@RenateKuenast) July 21, 2018
The Green politician Renate Künast said that Bannon could “manipulate” the EU elections. One German minister attacked Steve Bannon’s “hatred and lies”.
#Europa darf keine Angst haben vor den nationalistischen Kampagnen, mit denen Herr #Bannon die #EU in die Knie zwingen will. Unsere Werte sind stärker als Hass & Lügen! Aber wir müssen jetzt auch kämpfen – mit guten Argumenten, selbstbewusst & wahrhaftig. https://t.co/wpWISkdq5n
— Michael Roth MdB 🇪🇺 (@MiRo_SPD) July 23, 2018
The AfD parliamentary group leader, Alice Weidel, was open to Bannon’s announcement. “Steve Bannon’s plans sound very exciting and ambitious,” she told Die Welt.
Bannon designed the image of the “super-group” in the European Parliament, which could include a third of the MEPs after the upcoming election.
“Everyone thinks that May is going to be very important. This is the first Europe-wide clash between populists and the Davos party,” Bannon pointed out. It is about defeating the “Davos Party”, as he called the governments of the established parties. “This will be an enormously important moment for Europe.”
The seat of the foundation will be Brussels and Bannon himself plans to spend half of his time in Europe after the midterm elections in the US in November to help build The Movement.
Raheem Kassam, a former aide to UKIP ex-leader Nigel Farage called the Brussels plan “a clearing house for the populist, nationalist movement in Europe”, according to Reuters news agency. “We have started to staff up,” he said,to deal with issues ranging from sovereignty, border control and jobs.
Conservatives in Europe already have a grip on power in Italy, Hungary and Austria.