BNP failing in Europe already

British National Party leader Nick Griffin has been travelling back and forth from Brussels ever since his election as an MEP, trying his best to find enough like-minded members to form a bloc of far-right MEPs so that he can take a central role within it. However, on Tuesday he was forced to admit that there is "no possibility" of finding that degree of support for his party. "We have failed to form a formal group," he says. "It's disappointing but not surprising." Especially not for the vast numbers of European citizens who are opposed to extremist politics, despite Mr. Griffin's belief that he speaks for a significant percentage of people who share his racist views.

Fascists Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons will not be allocated an office in the EU Parliament building. Maybe they could find shelter in the bins round the back where they, their party and their policies belong instead.
Image by Zinneke, taken from Wikipedia, used in accordance with Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license.

This is a major set-back to both Griffin and the party's dreams of grandeur. If they remain unattached to a larger group, their two MEPs - Griffin and Andrew Brons - will lose out on an extra £1 million of funding, will not be allocated an office, will not get administrative staff and won't be permitted to take part in the European Parliament's main committee votes. Sajjad Karim, the Conservative MEP representing Griffin's North West England constituency, says that the organisation's failure is evidence of "how ineffective the BNP will be in the European Parliament." Karim's sarcasm is admirable. Griffin and Brons have been holding talks with officials from the French Front National, Belgian Vlaams Belang, Bulgaria's Ataka and Hungary's Jobbik parties. All share similar right-wing policies but can summon up insufficient MEPs between themselves to form a bloc which, according to EU rules, must number at least 25 people from seven different countries. Other groups, such as the Northern League of Italy, have similar views to those of the BNP but are hesitant to form an alliance with it due to its controversial reputation. With any luck, this is an early indication that the fascist BNP's recent electoral success is no more than a transient phenomenon and will soon be seen to be no more than an anachronism. Griffin, Brons and the rest of their hate-filled cronies are all too fond of tricking themselves into thinking they have widespread support - hopefully this will serve to remind them that they speak only for a tiny minority and as such will not gain the support they require to achieve any sort of real power.