Steve Bannon's Austrian Encounter: What We Know

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has been increasingly visible in Europe in recent months, promoting right-wing populism and economic nationalism. Bannon has founded a Brussels-based organisation called The Movement to promote right-wing populist and economic nationalist groups in Europe that are opposed to the European Union. Bannon has met with various European politicians, including Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Italy's anti-immigration Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. However, Bannon's efforts to export his brand of populism to Europe have faced setbacks, with some right-wing parties and leaders publicly distancing themselves from him. Notably, the Austrian far-right Freedom Party has expressed reluctance to collaborate with Bannon, preferring to forge alliances independently.

Bannon's efforts to export Trump's brand of populism to Europe

Steve Bannon, former White House Chief Strategist and adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, has attempted to export Trump's brand of populism to Europe. Bannon's efforts have been described as "failing" by several of his current and former political partners in Italy and Belgium. Bannon's activities in Europe have included trying to establish an "academy for the Judeo-Christian West" at an Italian monastery and promoting right-wing parties that are skeptical about the European Union.

Bannon's efforts to export Trump's populism to Europe have included the following:

The Dignitatis Humanae Institute

One of Bannon's main post-Trump causes has been the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, a conservative Catholic organisation based in an 800-year-old monastery south of Rome. Bannon, along with the institute's leader, former British Conservative Party activist Benjamin Harnwell, has tried to set up a two-track program: an "academy for the Judeo-Christian West" with a Bannon-designed curriculum, and the Cardinal Martino Academy, which will promote Catholic social teachings.

However, Harnwell has faced obstacles from the Italian authorities, who have tried to evict him from the monastery. In October 2018, Italy's Culture Ministry revoked the institute's permission to use the monastery, stating that Harnwell's organisation did not meet the requirements to manage it and had lied in its application. The ministry also cited violations of contractual obligations, including a failure to pay concession fees and carry out maintenance work.

Harnwell's institute appealed to a local administrative court, which blocked the eviction order and allowed the organisation to continue managing the monastery. The Italian Court of Auditors, however, said that the institute failed to pay rent of around 200,000 euros for 2018 and 2019. Harnwell has argued that the Italian authorities are trying to undermine the institute because of politics.

The Movement

In 2017, Bannon founded The Movement, a populist organisation that promotes right-wing populist groups in Europe that are against the EU government and political system. The group is led by Mischaël Modrikamen, a Belgian lawyer, and has received praise from figures such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Italian Eurosceptic party leader Luigi Di Maio.

Bannon and his associates' principal objective with The Movement was to marshal anti-EU sympathisers and parties to put forward candidates for the 2019 European Parliament elections. While populist candidates from France, Italy, and Britain did well, their counterparts in Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Spain did not. Bannon's Movement found little support from right-wing leaders, with some key right-wing parties and leaders publicly distancing themselves from him. Marine Le Pen of France's National Rally, for example, declared that Bannon "was playing no role in our campaign."

In June 2019, Modrikamen withdrew from politics, and The Movement shut down.

Other Activities

Bannon has also toured Europe, speaking at events with various far-right political parties. He has visited and expressed support for numerous right-wing populist and nationalist parties across the continent, including the Dutch Party for Freedom, the Freedom Party of Austria, the UK Independence Party, the Swiss People's Party, France's National Rally, the Italian League, Alternative for Germany, the Sweden Democrats, the Polish Law and Justice, and Spain's Vox, among others. Bannon has attempted to build a network of far-right parties in Europe, but has met with limited success due to differing national and ideological views among the parties.

Bannon's involvement with the Dignitatis Humanae Institute

Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, has been involved with the Dignitatis Humanae Institute (DHI), a Catholic-inspired institute based in Collepardo, Italy. The DHI was founded by British citizen Benjamin Harnwell and is supported by some of the most conservative factions inside the Catholic Church. Bannon was invited as a keynote speaker at a DHI conference in 2014, where he praised European far-right parties.

In 2018, Bannon helped the DHI craft curricula for leadership courses aimed at right-wing Catholic activists. Bannon said he hoped to spur a populist movement in Europe and planned to turn the Abbey of Trisulti, a former monastery in Collepardo, into an academy for training future European nationalists and populist politicians. However, these plans faced opposition from local residents and were ultimately blocked by Italy's highest administrative court in 2021, which found that the DHI had misrepresented its legal status and experience.

Bannon's relationship with the DHI caused him to fall out of favour with some conservative Catholic figures, including American Cardinal Raymond Burke, who was an honorary president of the institute. Burke withdrew his support after Bannon expressed interest in a film adaptation of a book alleging homosexuality in the Vatican and questioned clerical celibacy.

Bannon's desire to establish an academy for the Judeo-Christian West

Steve Bannon, an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker, has been known for his far-right political leanings and his association with former US President Donald Trump. Bannon served as Trump's chief strategist and had a significant influence on his administration's policies and decisions.

In line with his political ambitions, Bannon desired to establish an academy to promote his right-wing ideology, particularly in Europe. This institution, known as the "Academy for the Judeo-Christian West," was envisioned as a "gladiator school" to train a new generation of nationalist and populist leaders. Bannon aimed to create a network of right-wing and populist groups across Europe, challenging the traditional conservative groups within the European Parliament.

The academy was to be set up in a former Italian monastery, the Trisulti Charterhouse, located in a remote area of Italy's Lazio region. Bannon collaborated with Benjamin Harnwell, a former British Conservative European Parliament staffer, who founded the Dignitatis Humanae Institute (DHI), a right-wing Catholic organization. However, their plans faced significant opposition and legal challenges.

Harnwell and Bannon intended to establish the academy as a training ground for right-wing activists, teaching them how to challenge liberal worldviews and promote Judeo-Christian values. They also wanted to invite prominent right-wing politicians, such as Italy's Matteo Salvini and Britain's Nigel Farage, to teach specialized courses.

Despite facing legal battles and opposition from local activists, Harnwell was eventually cleared of all charges related to fraud and eviction. This ruling allowed Bannon and Harnwell to reconsider their plans for the academy. Bannon saw this victory as a symbol of resistance against what he called the "deep state of the EU," aiming to shut down their efforts.

While Bannon's desire to establish the academy demonstrated his ambition to spread his political ideology, it also highlighted the controversial nature of his far-right beliefs and the challenges he faced in gaining a foothold in Europe.

Bannon's meeting with the German ambassador to Washington

Bannon has been working to build a pan-European right-wing alliance, but the head of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) in Austria, Harald Vilimsky, has said that his party is not keen on working with Bannon. Vilimsky told ORF public television:

> We want to forge alliances in Europe but we do it independently of the US, Russia or anyone else...We want to grow, expand on our own and develop our program and ideas on our own, but surely not under the leadership of someone active in the United States.

Bannon, who served as chief strategist to former US President Donald Trump, has been increasingly visible in Europe since he was pushed out of the White House and the right-wing Breitbart media empire. Bannon has focused on touting plans for a Brussels-based foundation called "The Movement" to change the dynamics of European politics. He has met with various politicians, including Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Italy's anti-immigration Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.

Salvini, who recently blocked rescue ships carrying migrants from docking at Italian ports, said he wanted to be at the forefront of a movement to "save Europe", a day after meeting Bannon in Rome. When questioned about a possible collaboration with Bannon, Orban told a press conference in Brussels he was not "interested in things that do not affect Hungary."

Despite Bannon's efforts, his project has had only limited success. While he appeared at events with France's National Rally's Marine Le Pen and Italy's League's Matteo Salvini, the Sweden Democrats said they had "no interest" in Bannon's initiative, the Flemish Vlaams Belang called it "poorly organized", and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) cited divergent views.

Bannon's meeting with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban

Bannon has been a vocal supporter of right-wing populist movements in Europe and has sought to build a pan-European right-wing alliance. In this context, he met with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who spoke positively of Bannon's group, "The Movement". Bannon has described Orban as a "good guy" and an "American originalist". He has also praised Orban's nationalist policies, particularly his stance on immigration. Bannon has said that he wants to "bring all these countries together" and create a "supergroup" in the European Parliament to promote right-wing populism and economic nationalism.

Bannon's meeting with Orban is part of his broader efforts to export former US President Donald Trump's brand of populism to Europe. Bannon has also met with other right-wing leaders in Europe, including Matteo Salvini in Italy, Nigel Farage in the UK, and Marine Le Pen in France. He has expressed his admiration for Orban's nationalist and anti-immigration policies, which he sees as a model for other European countries. Bannon has said that he wants to "take on the administrative state, the deep state, and the permanent political class" in Europe, and he believes that Orban is a key ally in this effort.

Bannon's meeting with Orban and other European right-wing leaders has sparked concern among some observers, who worry that he is promoting divisive and extremist ideologies. Bannon has been accused of spreading racist and misogynist views through his media platform, Breitbart News, and his influence on European politics has been described as "fiery populism". However, Bannon's efforts to build a pan-European right-wing movement have faced challenges, with some right-wing parties, such as the Freedom Party of Austria, refusing to collaborate with him due to his American citizenship and their desire for independence.

Frequently asked questions