2023-12-05 17:54:56
Farmer parties already exist in the Netherlands and Ireland. Spain is thinking
The head of the national lobby of the hunters in France launched a new political party on Tuesday to “defend the countryside” in next year’s European elections, a move that could steal votes from right-wing parties, Politico reported.
The small list of candidates “will get a big result”, predicted Willy Schraen at a press conference in Paris, where he outlined the goals of his new party, which will bring together not only hunters but also fishermen, farmers and small entrepreneurs.
Called Rural Alliance, the party will fight to protect the interests of traditional rural occupations – such as farming, fishing and hunting – and counter the “administrative burden” created by EU institutions in Brussels that is “suffocating” rural communities, he said.
The new party is staunchly pro-European, Schraen said, but wants Brussels to interfere less: “We want Europe to get back to focusing on its main task” of preserving peace and freedom, he said.
The launch of the Rural Alliance fits into a wider trend where new ones have emerged this year political parties across the block to protect the interests of farmers and rural communities. They are usually formed by farmers and hunters who feel they are not represented by traditional political parties.
In the Netherlands, the newly formed FarmerCitizenMovement (BBB) scored a big victory in regional elections in March amid a campaign against national plans to halve nitrogen emissions from agriculture by 2030. It has since lost some momentum, garnering just 4.7 percent of the vote the parliamentary elections last month.
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In Ireland, the Farmers’ Alliance party, launched in April, defends food security and land protection, among other issues, and challenges key EU policies to reduce nitrogen emissions and new nature restoration targets.
Established parties are also seeking to cast themselves as defenders of rural interests, with the European People’s Party, the largest group in the European Parliament, looking to sink key elements of the EU’s Green Deal in a bid to protect farmers.
Manuel Gallardo, head of Spain’s hunters’ federation, who attended the Rural Alliance’s grand unveiling on Tuesday, said he was “watching closely” France’s example and may try to launch a similar bid in Spain before EU elections in June.
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