The leader of German dadaist party Die Partei (“The Party”) has claimed that he has been asked to enter into an alliance with Ukip in order to help Farage’s party fix their collapsed European parliamentary group.
Comedian Martin Sonneborn told the German edition of news website The Local that he had been approached by Ukip within hours of the collapse of the eurosceptic Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group (EFDD) due to the resignation of Latvian MEP Iveta Grigule.
“Farage’s question was serious,” Sonneborn said. “Several people from his group called my office manager.”
Groups in the European Parliament need at least 25 MEPs from seven different countries in order to form an official alliance, and Ukip could lose up to £1m in funding unless they can persuade another MEP to join.
Sonneborn, whose Die Partei gained 0.6% in the European elections thanks to such incisive slogans as “Merkel is stupid” and “Hands off German willies: no to the EU penis-norm” had told the Guardian of his desire to win over Farage’s party for an “alliance of idiots and fools” in May, and reiterated his desire to see Britain leave the EU this week: “It doesn’t belong to the continent, just take a look at the map.”
But he said Ukip had failed to take coalition talks to the next step: “I wrote back and said, I’d do it if they rename the fraction Sonneborn’s EFDD. He didn’t get back to me.”
A spokesperson for the EFDD has refused to confirm or deny the Sonneborn approach, telling The Local that “We’re not making any rash promises but we [are hoping to reform the EFDD on] Monday or next week.”
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion