The European Parliament right-wing alliance Patriots.eu has announced that Israel’s Likud party has joined its ranks as an observer member.
On February 7, at the Patriots.eu congress in Madrid, the Israeli right-wing party was officially and unanimously awarded observer status with the parliamentary faction effective immediately.
We warmly welcome the @Likud_Party as an Observer Member.
Together, we will strengthen our bonds and promote our shared values of democracy, freedom, and cultural heritage. pic.twitter.com/BEVSIaZMmY
— Patriots.eu (@PatriotsEU) February 9, 2025
The Madrid summit was attended by key members of the right-wing faction including Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, France’s Marine Le Pen of National Rally, the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders, head of the PVV, and Italy’s Matteo Salvini, leader of Lega.
Likud is the main right-wing party in Israel. With 32 out of 120 seats, it is the largest party in the Knesset, the country’s parliament. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is its current chairman.
At the Madrid congress, the party was represented by Ariel Bulshtein, its Head of International Relations and adviser to Netanyahu. Likud is the first non-European party to join Patriots.eu in any capacity.
“Together we will strengthen our bonds and promote our shared values of democracy, freedom and cultural heritage,” Patriots.eu wrote on X.
The Austrian Freedom Party, a member of Patriots.eu, said it saw Likud’s accession as a further sign that the “fairy tale of international isolation” was collapsing.
Sehr erfreuliche Meldungen vom Patrioten-Kongress in Madrid. Der Likud ist nun offiziell, mit einstimmigem Beschluss und sofortiger Wirkung beim Kongress in Madrid als Observer in unserer EU-Fraktion. Zur Info: Der Likud ist die größte rechts-stehende Partei in Israel, ihr… pic.twitter.com/Zbj4Tc2HR1
— FPÖ (@FPOE_TV) February 8, 2025
The announcement was met with scorn by leftists and Palestinian activists alike on social media.
Other observers remarked that the new co-operation might herald political change. Christoph Hofer, a Liberal commentator from Austria, wrote on X that the accession indicated Likud “is apparently expecting a significant shift in political power in Europe in the near future”.
