Czech far-right leader ready to back von der Leyen, lists conditions

Petr Mach, leader of the Czech far-right coalition for the upcoming European elections, is ready to support Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as European Commission president – but only if she is ready to accept a revote on the Green Deal and the Migration and Asylum Pact, Mach told Euractiv Czechia in an interview.

Mach was elected as an MEP in 2014 for the Czech Eurosceptic and right-wing libertarian party Svobodní (Free Citizens’ Party). For this year’s election, Mach is running as the leader of the coalition of the Freedom and Direct Democracy movement (ID) and the Trikolora party (non-affiliated).

According to opinion polls, the Czech Eurosceptic coalition could win 7-10% of the vote, and it is not only in Czechia that the Eurosceptics are likely to grow stronger. According to Europe Elects, they could win 84 seats in the European Parliament in June’s elections, a number comparable to that of Renew or the ECR.

“We are trying to make our Identity and Democracy Group so strong that it can no longer be ignored (…) So that those who are going to be interested in becoming European Commissioners also have to talk to us,” Mach said in the interview.

As far as the leadership of the European Commission after the 2024 elections is concerned, the ID group is open to various options.

“We are happy to support someone from another faction if they come up with a candidate that we find acceptable. That means a candidate who would promise a repeat vote on the Green Deal and the migration pact,” he added.

Asked if he would support von der Leyen, the Czech politician said: “If she had promised that, possibly. But I do not think she would be the one to promise us such a thing.”

While Mach considers the future of the Czech far-right Eurosceptics to be with the ID group, he suggests that the EU group may not be the only such group to emerge after the elections.

“There may be two factions of similar nature,” he said, adding that such a scenario was possible and may even be “preferable” as Eurosceptics could have a more significant influence in forming two smaller Eurosceptic groups than one large one.

(Aneta Zachová, Kateřina Zichová | Euractiv.cz)

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