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be the ones initiating 'infringe- ment procedures' against indi- vidual member states (for in- fringements, by the way, of the same EU laws that they will very soon be drafting themselves); and they will be the ones re- sponsible for the 'implementa- tion of decisions taken by the European Parliament' (which, naturally, they also control). Anyway, you get the overall picture. If Europe swings any further to the Extreme Right, than that… it may as well change its emblem to a Swas- tika, and get it over with. 'Nuff said. This leaves us, naturally, with a couple of other, less overtly tragic scenarios. Let's say, for the sake of another argument, that Orban's vision of a 'right- wing EU super group' fails to materialise… but the Extreme Right still controls a majority of seats in the EP. Well, we don't need to look too far, to work out what would happen. The Commission's current President has already – on multiple occasions, please note – signalled her intention to (as a Politico headline put it) 'open the door to Europe's hard right'. During a recent debate, "she indicated she would be open to a deal with the [Melo- ni-backed] European Conserv- atives and Reformists (ECR) group after this summer's EU- wide election." Elsewhere, she has actively courted Meloni's Brothers of Italy, for a possible future po- litical alliance: which didn't go down too well with some of the other mainstream parties she is already allied with; nor even, it seems, with some of her own colleagues in the EPP. This brings me directly to that third option I had men- tioned earlier. The European Socialists have now warned Ur- sula von der Leyen that "they won't back her for a second term as European Commission president if she continues to suggest she could work with hard-right MEPs aligned with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni"… … and they reportedly even have a replacement candidate in mind: former Italian PM Maro Draghi. There are, however, two small snags. The first is, very simply, that – according to virtually all Europe's polls and surveys, at any rate – the European Socialists have about as much chance of achieving that goal, as I would have of beating the Incredible Hulk (or even Bruce Banner, if it comes to it) in an arm-wrestling competition. The second is that German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz hasn't, to the best of my knowledge, explained how he intends to actually achieve his stated aim: i.e., that "when the next Com- mission is formed, it must not be based on a majority that also needs the support of the far right;" and that "the only way to establish a Commission presidency will be to base it on the traditional parties." Erm… sorry to ask, but: how does Olaf Scholtz think he can physically form this EP ma- jority, that would be required to get his 'revolution' off the ground… … without roping in ANY of the extreme right parties, which would by then occupy an outright EP majority of their own? Mathematically, it just doesn't add up. Even if Ursula von der Leyen IS replaced… her sub- stitute can only realistically be someone who enjoys at least SOME form of backing, from Europe's Far Right. And not only does this ex- clude Mario Draghi, out of hand… it also pre-emptively conditions any incoming Eu- ropean Commission President, who would now – even if it remains Ursula, after all – be constrained to implement the recommendations of a quintes- sentially 'rightwing' European Parliament, to begin with. As you can easily see for your- selves: ALL the possible sce- narios, explored in this article, just happen to land the Euro- pean Union infinitely further to the right, than it is today… … which also places the whole of Europe infinitely further to the right, than it has been since… well, since the days when Europe's emblem almost DID become a Swastika (with consequences that were so ut- terly catastrophic, than we've been trying – and failing – to 'get over it', ever since…) But, hey! In the interest of ending this on a slightly more optimistic note: there are still seven days to go, before the election itself. And while it may be highly unlikely, all things considered… there is a still a chance - however small - that those polls might be proven wrong, in the end. Just saying, that's all… Europe will either swing, wholesale, all the way to the Extreme Right; or, at best, it will swing to a point on the political compass that is not quite as 'extreme'; but pretty far right, all the same 11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 JUNE 2024 OPINION