The growing influence of the extreme right on the eve of European elections

according to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency, radio site In an article, Germany addressed the success of far-right parties in many European countries on the eve of European parliamentary elections and wrote: In many European countries, including the Netherlands, Italy and Germany, right-wing populists have been riding the wave of success.

This article continues: The right-wing and far-right populist parties have been represented in European parliaments for years. Far-right parties are also involved in governments. Now the question is, how should the change to the right in Europe be evaluated? And wrote: In the Dutch parliamentary elections in November 2023, Geert Wilders’ right-wing populist Freedom Party (PVV) surprisingly became the strongest force. In this regard, he says that immigration and asylum issues were very important for this election.

Almost six months after this election, the leaders of the right-wing populist party PVV, the Liberal The conservative VVD, the right-wing conservative NSC and the populist right-wing BBB Farmers Party agreed to form a coalition. Of course, many political observers in the Netherlands doubt that this new government will survive the legislative period. It has not yet been determined who should take over the leadership of the Netherlands.

In Italy, the post-fascist “Georgia Meloni” from the extreme party of the Italian Brothers will be the prime minister from the end of October 2022. This country has been This party formed a coalition with the extreme right parties Forza and Lega. In his rhetoric, Meloni uses a narrative that fights against the alleged hegemony of the left wing. Immigrants also frequently become the enemy, he believes.

The Meloni government is trying to change democracy according to its ideas: in November 2023, Meloni proposed The direct election of the prime minister with a simple vote gave the majority. Based on this, electoral coalitions must nominate a candidate for the post of head of government. A coalition then automatically receives 55 percent of the seats in both houses of parliament if its candidate is successfully elected. The opposition strongly criticized these plans.

In Hungary, Viktor Orban, the prime minister of this country and his right-wing populist party Fidesz, have a very conservative family policy and a They follow an anti-immigration approach.

Orban has been seeking rapprochement with Russian President Vladimir Putin for years. Hungary is also constantly fighting with the European Union over the violation of the rule of law. It has replaced Germany as the second most powerful force after the Christian United Alliance. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, of course, classifies this party as a suspected far-right group. According to Hans Vorlander, a political scientist from the University of Dresden, the party has positioned itself strongly on a “national far-right spectrum”.

Right-wing populists They are also in power in Finland.

In Poland, the national-conservative Law and Justice Party PiS, which ruled the country since 2015, is once again the strongest. The force was transformed. However, as no coalition partner was found, PiS handed over power to a coalition led by Donald Tusk.

The example of Germany shows that right-wing populist parties and The far right also influences politics where they are not in government.

Another example is France, where Marine Le Pen of the Rassemblement National (former National Front) in He lost last year’s presidential election, but it shapes the public discourse on immigration policy, for example, in part with media support.

The situation with the Democrats Sweden’s right-wing populists are similar, they are not represented in the cabinet, but they support the conservative-bourgeois government. There is also Europe outside the EU: in England, the Conservatives, in power since 2010 and threatened with defeat in the next election according to polls, are pursuing a strict immigration policy.

Also in Switzerland, the right-wing populist SVP was the clear winner of the 2023 election.

It follows: 2024 is an important election year in Europe Is. European Parliament elections will be held on June 9. Right-wing populists and right-wing extremists want to greatly increase their powers in the shadow of these elections.

In the upcoming state elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia in Germany In the fall of 2024, forming a government could be very difficult for Germany due to the expected strength of the extreme alternative party. Especially in the Christian Democratic Party, there is always a debate about how to deal with the AfD.

Elections will be held soon in several EU countries. In Austria, where a new parliament will be elected next year, the far-right Austrian Freedom Party FPÖ is leading according to opinion polls. This right-wing populist and anti-EU party has been part of the Austrian government several times in the past 25 years but has yet to appoint a leader.

Paula Diehl, expert on factional populism Right from Kiel University, he talks about “grey areas”. According to him, there was already a fear of connection between right-wing extremists and conservative-bourgeois forces. Now these actors are closer to each other.”

Right-wing populist parties now act as a platform to some extent. Groups that didn’t work together before now come together at such parties. “It makes it very difficult because the borders are fluid, while the right-wing proposals on immigration become politically and socially acceptable,” Diehl said.

It is stated in another part of this article: In this way, the new right will become a real competition for the existing conservative parties in Europe.

In another part of this article, the author wrote: Of course, there are differences between right-wing parties in Europe. The right-wing French populist party Rassemblement National (RN) has ended its cooperation with the extreme Alternative for Germany party in the European Parliament after some disagreements.

In the beginning January 2024 Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke of “irreconcilable differences” between her far-right party and Germany’s far-right party.

Read more : Right-wing populism and right-wing extremism in Europe is not a new phenomenon. Politicians such as Jörg Haider and Silvio Berlusconi celebrated electoral success in the 1980s and 1990s, and Geert Wilders has been politically active for years.

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