The inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump is shaping up to include a gathering of European far-right populists.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, whose attendance seemed up in the air after tech billionaire and Trump adviser Elon Musk called for him to be replaced as party leader, will be in attendance, his spokesman confirmed to dpa on Thursday.
Italian far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, who Trump called a “fantastic woman” when she visited him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida earlier this month, will be there too after she personally received an invitation from the real-estate mogul, she said last week.
French right-wing extremists Éric Zemmour and Sarah Knafo from the Reconquest party are also expected to attend, with Marion Maréchal, the niece of far-right leader Marine Le Pen reportedly also planning to make the trip across the Atlantic.
Whether Le Pen herself will be there remains unclear.
Tom Van Grieken, the chairman of Belgium’s radical right-wing party Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest), will join fellow European populists at the inauguration, his party said.
“It is an honour to participate in an event with world leaders who share our values, an event that once again puts the message ‘our people first’ centre stage,” the Flemish party said.
The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Tino Chrupalla, told dpa on Thursday that he is planning to attend the ceremony outside the US Capitol building in Washington after he received an invitation.
The German government will be represented by its ambassador to the US as is customary, government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said last week.