The European People’s Party (EPP) boss admits to drawing from the past to sustain his political influence, according to a recent interview.
Perhaps saying the quiet part out loud, Manfred Weber outlined how “he is trying to strike a balance between relying on far-right support while blocking extremists from power.” In other words, he is happy to try to co-opt populists’ policies and talking points, and maybe their votes, on behalf of the European Union’s fading centre-right:
Having also my German history in mind with Weimar and the Nazi regime, then the real historic mistake was to give right-extreme politicians executive power, and that is for us the red line.
With his unreliable recollection of German history, Weber is keen to crowbar Adolf Hitler into the conversation—typically in order to smear national conservatives as ‘far right.’
Nevertheless, he would gladly lean on populist voters in Europe to prop up the EPP in the European Parliament and elsewhere. Weber sharing this ambition with the in-house Brussels [lapdog/journal – you decide!] Politico is yet another reason not to vote for him or his party.
