After an orchestrated wave of outrage EU Parliament pays tribute to Charlie Kirk - and no one is looking

The European Parliament has officially commemorated the murdered US influencer Charlie Kirk - without much response in the European media.

Almost unnoticed by Europe's media, the European Parliament commemorated the murdered US political influencer Charlie Kirk on Monday. At the beginning of the session week in Strasbourg, Parliament President Roberta Metsola remembered the 31-year-old, who was killed on a university campus in the USA last month.

"We all witnessed the shocking murder of Charlie Kirk," said Metsola. "He was 31 years old and well known to anyone with a social media account. This senseless act of murder should be treated with dignity. I would urge everyone to avoid political theater or cheap point scoring."

«This senseless act of murder should be treated with dignity»

Roberta Metsola

President of the EU Parliament

In her statement, Metsola also emphasized the responsibility of politics for public discourse: "This murder underscores how important it is that we all do what we can in public life to reduce divisive rhetoric and the demonization of political opponents. We can do better. Violence has no place in our society. Words and ideas - not guns and not hate - must shape our dialog."

Violence has repeatedly had "terrible consequences" around the world, she said, referring to recent attacks in the USA and Europe.

Dispute over minute's silence

The tribute took place more than three weeks after Kirk's death - and thus in the usual rhythm of the EU Parliament. Minutes of silence are traditionally held at the beginning of a session, never in the middle of the week.

It was precisely this rule that led to a scandal: MEPs from the national conservative group ECR called for an immediate minute's silence immediately after Kirk's death. Chairwoman Katarina Barley (SPD) rejected this with reference to the rules of procedure.

Swedish ECR MEP Charlie Weimers then attempted to use his speaking time for a "minute's silence of his own" - a practice that is not permitted in the plenary chamber. Barley immediately stopped the attempt. Right-wing MPs reacted with loud protests and footage of the scene quickly spread on social media.

According to research by blue News, Weimers submitted his motion just a few hours after Kirk's death, at 01:06 Swiss time. Around eleven hours later, parliament rejected the request.

The far right cultivates outrage

Politicians on the far right used the event to launch a Europe-wide campaign of outrage and accused the parliamentary leadership of double standards. In Madrid, the Spanish Vox party later staged its own minute's silence for Kirk, supported by members of the new "Patriots for Europe" group initiated by Viktor Orbán.

Weimers himself did not pay much attention to the official minute's silence this week, at least on social media. Instead, he called for the EU Parliament "not to hold special debates about self-promoters" - not referring to a fellow MEP, but to 22-year-old Swede Greta Thunberg, who, along with around 500 other people, wanted to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Minute's silence also for Hamas victims and the Gaza war

In addition to Kirk, Parliament President Roberta Metsola also remembered other events on Monday: She commemorated Iranian activist Jina Mahsa Amini, spoke about the attack on a synagogue in Manchester as well as the second anniversary of Hamas attacks on Israel. The minute's silence was therefore not just for Kirk, but also for other victims.

Minutes of silence have a long tradition in the EU Parliament and are usually held at the beginning of sessions. At the beginning of September, for example, the Parliament commemorated the "horror" in the Gaza Strip; there was also a minute's silence after the school massacre in Graz.

Note: The last paragraph was clarified after publication to make it clear that it was a joint minute's silence.