Fascists form EU caucus

Europe of the Fatherlands -- proposed name for what will likely be the European Parliament's newest caucus. No motherlands, you'll notice. Not surprising, as the caucus is made up of the parliament's right-wing extremists.

And a charming group they are: including Corneliu Vadim Tudor, head of the anti-Hungarian, anti-Semitic and anti-Roma Greater Romanian party; Volen Siderov of Bulgaria's Ataka party which campaigns against Gypsies and Turks; Frank Vanhecke, leader of Belgium's Vlaams Belang, a separatist Flemish party; Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of Benito; Dimitar Stoyanov, a Bulgarian MEP who boasted that in Bulgaria you can buy yourself a loving Gypsy wife only 12 or 13 years old." Bruno Gollnisch, deputy leader of France's National Front, is expected to head the caucus. (Gollnisch has been suspended from teaching at his university in France and is awaiting a court verdict for questioning the number of Jews murdered by the Nazis.)

According to the EU Parliament's rules, an official caucus must have at least 19 MEPs from a minimum of five countries. With the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU, the right wingers now satisfy that criteria and are expected to announce the creation of a caucus during the first session of 2007. A formal caucus will mean greater funding for the group.

Sieg Heil and all that.