Steve Bannon's Plot To Disrupt Europe Sounds Pretty Thin (HBO)

When a photograph of Steve Bannon and the Italian strongman Matteo Salvini appeared on Twitter last month with the caption “He is in!,” it marked the official arrival of the American political operative’s next big project: uniting Europe’s populists in a right-wing insurgency.

Bannon announced his ambitious plan in July to fuel a populist revolt in Europe through Brussels-based nonprofit foundation The Movement — with the goal of aligning national right-wing movements on a European level, by providing polling, research, data analytics, and messaging. And with Salvini, the anti-immigration Italian deputy prime minister, in the fold, the project gained a co-sign from one of the most powerful voices on the European right.

But Salvini’s endorsement of The Movement looks pretty flimsy. The Italian populist is signing up on the basis of just a verbal agreement, according to Bannon’s key partner in Europe, Mischaël Modrikamen.

What’s more, Modrikamen told VICE News, the agreement asks nothing of Salvini other than an endorsement of a handful of conservative principles, and to attend The Movement’s inaugural convention — if he can make it. (Bannon declined to speak about The Movement to VICE News. His spokesman said he preferred to let Modrikamen’s comments ”stand on their own merit,” as the Belgian was “the lead on the ground.”)

“He said to me, ‘yes, provided I’m available’,” said Modrikamen, The Movement’s executive director, who is also the leader of Belgium’s right-wing populist People’s Party. The third proviso for membership, Modrikamen said, was that Salvini permitted The Movement to go public with their political marriage — although it seems the group doesn’t have yet a functioning website to advertise the association.

Despite plenty of big promises, the rest of Bannon’s political project in Europe doesn’t appear to be much better organized than their web presence, according to Modrikamen’s account. He describes the organization as simply an informal “club of parties,” but one that he hopes will upend the liberal political establishment in Europe.

That echoes Bannon’s description of The Movement as a “loose association” acting as the “connective tissue” linking national right-wing movements. The group's immediate focus appears to be providing the “fundamental building blocks for winning” to populist parties contesting the next European Parliament elections in May. In the bigger picture, he’s spoken of his ambition for The Movement to one day act as a right-wing counterbalance to philanthropist George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, which have provided billions to liberal causes in Europe.

“It’s a club of goodwill,” said Modrikamen. “If... you try to impose a very precise line on a certain number of issues, then you enter into all these disagreements. That’s why we say it’s just a club with four or five principles, with only advantages — no fees, no commitments from the members.”

As for that inaugural convention, no firm date has been set — it could be November, or January.

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