National Renovator Party

National Renovator Party
President José Pinto Coelho
Founded 12 April 2000
Headquarters Lisbon, Portugal
Youth wing Nationalist Youth
Ideology Portuguese nationalism
Euroscepticism
Political position Far-right[1]
European affiliation European National Front,
Alliance of European National Movements
European Parliament group No MEPs
Colours Black, Blue and Red
Assembly of the Republic
0 / 230
European Parliament
0 / 21
Regional
parliaments
0 / 104
Local
Government
0 / 2,086
Website
http://www.pnr.pt
Politics of Portugal
Political parties
Elections

The National Renovator Party (Portuguese: Partido Nacional Renovador pronounced: [pɐɾˈtiðu nɐsiuˈnaɫ ʁɨnuvɐˈðoɾ], PNR) is a Portuguese nationalist political party. Its motto is Nation and Labor and one of its objectives is the promotion of a Portuguese nationalist spirit. It believes that nationalism is putting the interests of the nation above sectarian interests. In 2009 the PNR was the first Portuguese party to be called the "New National Right, Social and Popular".

Its agenda includes proposals such as:

Support the family, Portuguese birth and education.
 Restricting migration and reverse migration flows.
 To fight crime and reduce the age of criminal responsibility.
 Complete and combat political corruption and social.
 Combat marxism and uncontrolled capitalism that binds thousands of Portuguese families and put in check the nation, companies and national work.
 Fight against job insecurity.

In the legislative elections of 2005, it had about 9400 votes, representing 0.2% of the voters. The municipal elections of 1 July 2007 for the Lisbon City Council gave it 0.8% of the vote. In the European elections of 2009, the list of the PNR, headed by Humberto Nuno de Oliveira, got 13,037 votes, 0.4% of the votes.

Its president is, since June 2005, José Pinto Coelho.

It is very similar to the French Front National. One of the party's main slogans is "Portugal to the Portuguese!"

History

The PNR was established in February 2000, has its origins among the supporters of the various small parties, movements and coalitions of the nationalist right (Party of Christian Democracy, Independent Movement for National Reconstruction/Party of the Portuguese Right, National Front), which emerged following the PREC, all extinct after some time electoral activity without appreciable results.

After the failure of the experiences of the PDC, MIRN/PDP and FN, it overcome the difficulties encountered by militants of the nationalist right to bring the five thousand signatures needed to form a party, acquisition of a centre/liberal center-left party in the bankruptcy (the PRD) presented as an opportunity.

The PRD had fallen into decay, accumulating debts and having no activity, but it was not extinguished. It was then that elements of the National Alliance and the defunct National Action Movement (MAN) have joined the PRD, have paid their debts and, once in control of the party, changed its name to National Renewal Party (PNR) with a new program.

Foreign policy

Externally, it opposes the process of federalization of the European Union, advocating co-operation rather than integration. It advocates an economic union based on mutual benefits for all states, resulting from the expansion of markets and the abolition of customs barriers, but opposed to political integration.

It is a member of the group European National Front, a group linked to extreme right. It also works with the Front National (France), Vlaams Blok (Flemish Belgium), Vlaams Belang (Flemish Belgium), British National Party (UK), NPD (Germany), La Falange (Spain) and others.

PNR is also opposed to Turkey entering the European Union and considers that Turkey is not a European country, geographically, culturally or ethnically. The party campaigns on other issues related to crime, terrorism and calls attention to the issue of human rights.

In February 2008, the National Renewal Party met with the ambassador of Serbia to promote a more unbiased opinion from the European Union.

Nationalist Youth

Since early 2006, the party has sought to recruit young students in secondary schools and higher education establishments. This aroused once more the attention of the authorities, who sent a report to the Ministers of Education and Interior. Although the PNR is a legal party, the report concluded that there is a real risk of transmission of xenophobic and violent ideas to young people, but since the creation of the Nationalist Youth, there has been no act of racist violence from Nationalist Youth members. The Nationalist Youth leader the recruitment and rejected the accusations and argued that there was discrimination against the movement.

Controversy

The PNR has been accused of promoting discrimination based on racial, religious and sexual grounds and some of its propaganda of subtly inciting to violence and hatred toward certain groups such as immigrants and homosexuals. The question of whether the party should be made illegal has been and still is a matter of discussion in Portugal especially because the Portuguese Constitution forbids any kind of discrimination based on race, sexual orientation, gender or religion.

Although in the past the party did not reject connections to so-called neo-Nazi racist movements,[2] it claims to be a target of political persecution. In their youth, some of its former members were convicted for racial discrimination and violent crimes, such as the racist murder of Alcindo Monteiro in Lisbon, after being linked to far-right armed groups such as the Portuguese Hammerskins. In recent years, however, the party has expelled its members that have connections to this kind of groups and, as a result, the former Portuguese Hammerskins leader Mário Machado has decided to try to create a new party.[3]

Election Results

In the 2005 national elections, the PNR obtained just under 0.2% of the vote, failing to elect any deputies to Parliament by a wide margin. In the 2009 European election, the party had about 13,000 votes, having 0.37% of the vote, the party had its higher results in the districts of Lisbon and Setubal.

Assembly of the Republic

Election # of votes % of vote # of seats Place
2002
4,712
0.09%
0
10th
2005
9,374
0.16%
0
9th
2009
11,503
0.20%
0
12th
2011
17,548
0.31%
0
10th

European Parliament

Election # of votes % of vote # of seats Place
2004
8,405
0.25%
0
11th
2009
13,214
0.37%
0
12th
2014
15,036
0.46%
0
12th

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Marchi 2013, p. 137
  2. ↑ Actualidades 7 Junho, 2006 Presidente do PNR solidário com Mário Machado
  3. ↑ "Observador May 2014

Bibliography

External links