Bannon initially discussed his plans for the organization with The Daily Beast, saying he wanted to create a populist "supergroup" bloc that could win up to a third of all 700+ MEP seats. He said he thought of the idea when he was invited to speak at an event hosted by Marine Le Pen. Bannon also believes that Sweden's 2018 elections created the perfect timing to launch The Movement. The Movement stands as a counterpoint to George Soros' Open Society. Bannon has referred to Soros as "evil but brilliant", and expressed a desire to promote nationalism instead of globalism.
Interest and support
In July 2018, Bannon and other former and current staff of Donald Trump met with the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, Željka Cvijanović, in Washington, D.C., attempting to expand influence in the Balkans. The Movement has attracted the attention of Hungarian Prime MinisterViktor Orbán, who spoke positively of the group. It was reported in September 2018 that Italy's then Deputy Prime MinisterMatteo Salvini had joined Bannon's new eurosceptic network. UKIP stated they would work with the group. Since then, The Movement has also attracted the attention of Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom, a eurosceptic opposition party in the Netherlands. Wilders said he arranged to meet Bannon in the Netherlands to discuss the group. Another such contact is Thierry Baudet, leader of another eurosceptic opposition party in the Netherlands Forum for Democracy. It is reported France's National Rally party, led by Marine Le Pen, will be joining The Movement. Luigi Di Maio, leader of the Italian Eurosceptic party M5S, met in September 2018 with Bannon and spoke positively of The Movement, although he remained ambivalent on whether he would join. On September 6, 2019, the Five Star Movement formed a pro-European center-left government with the Democratic Party, significantly reducing the chances of its joining The Movement. In February 2019, it was reported that Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, will be its representative in South America. The Belgian People's Party was dissolved on 18 June 2019, thus ending its affiliation to The Movement.
Criticism
Despite gains made by the group, the co-leader of the Alternative for Germany, Alexander Gauland rejected The Movement as an American conception and criticized its projections. He stated: "Mr Bannon will not succeed in forging an alliance of the like-minded for the European elections" citing what he believes to be their diverging viewpoints. The next day, the Freedom Party of Austria'ssecretary generalHarald Vilimsky stated his party, like Gauland's, is also unwilling to cooperate with Bannon, reiterating the party's independence and rejecting American influence in the populist movements of Europe. UKIP leaderGerard Batten stated in September 2018 that his party has no intentions of joining The Movement, saying UKIP "doesn't fit" into what Bannon proposes across Europe, and the party will instead pursue aims "for the British people". In October 2018, Marine Le Pen downplayed Bannon's plans for The Movement, saying that only Europeans would be "the political force behind the EU elections to save Europe". Speaking to the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, Law and Justice MEP Karol Karski said that this was not an offer for his party. Karski states that PiS would never support European parties working with Russia, such as the National Front or Alternative for Germany. According to Karski, Bannon's offer is "for those who want to smash the EU."
