Nationalist parties throughout Europe are trying to unite before Parliamentary elections

In what could be seen as a slightly paradoxical decision, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the country's nationalist League party Matteo Salvini announced on Monday the formation of a new European alliance of populist and far-right parties. The plan, per The Guardian, is for the new bloc to "shake up" European Parliament after the European Union elections in May.

"Our objective is to be the force of government and change in Europe," Salvini said at an event in Milan.

The alliance would consist largely of anti-immigrant, nationalist, and Euroskeptic parties, so the border-crossing, multi-national group provides an interesting wrinkle, at least rhetorically. Of course, the plan is to unite around those very ideas.

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It remains to be seen, though, just how many other parties will join Salvini. Only three others stood beside him at the event — Jörg Meuthen of Germany's AfD party, Anders Vistisen of the Danish People's Party, and Olli Kotro, a candidate for the Finnish nationalist party, Finns. Marine le Pen, leader of France's National Gathering party, was not in attendance but has signaled her support of the coalition, The New York Times reports. Salvini insisted he was a stand-in for allies from several countries, but that it was just too "unwieldy" to host a news conference with so many people. Meuthen reportedly said that more parties will join soon.