Since then, a flurry of other MEPs — many of whom used to sit in the ID group — have announced their intention to join: Six from Geert Wilders’ PVV in the Netherlands; six from Spain’s Vox (who previously sat in the ECR); three from Belgian party Vlaams Belang; two from the Portuguese Chega party; and Anders Vistisen from the Danish People’s Party, who will serve as the Patriots’ chief whip.
Eight MEPs from Matteo Salvini’s League are also expected to join. With Le Pen’s MEP, the group would have 79 lawmakers, slightly more than both the liberal Renew Europe group and the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and the Polish Law and Justice party.
ID had 49 MEPs in the outgoing Parliament, where it was the sixth-largest group.
However, the group’s power is likely to be checked by a so-called cordon sanitaire, whereby other groups will block it from holding key positions such as committee chairmanships or Parliament vice presidency roles.
Rebrand or restart?
There are diverging opinions about whether the Patriots is effectively a rebranding of ID or something completely fresh.
“According to our intention it will be a new party, with [a] new structure, more professional work and big impact,” said Balázs Orbán. He described the Patriots as a “whole new ecosystem in Brussels for patriotic forces.”