January 03, 2018

Easing the right-wing surge, the challenge in 2018

located:	Austria, Germany, France, USA, Hungary, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden
editor:	Maria João Morais

2017 will be remembered as the year when radical right-wing parties attained historic grip across Europe. Elections held in countries such as Holland, France, Germany and Austria confirmed the surge of populist and xenophobic parties.

With a strong anti-immigration message, Geert Wilders’ People’s Party came second in the Dutch parliament in March, while in France the National Front reached the second round of the Presidential election. Although Marine Le Pen was eventually defeated by Emanuel Macron, the liberal victory has had little impact in slowing down the rapid ascent of extreme right in Europe.

In Germany, the Alternative for Germany achieved unprecedented success, entering the Bundestag with 12.3% of the national vote, up from 4.7% four year ago.

Austria was, however, the country where the radical right-wing achieved its best result. The national-conservative Freedom Party (FPO) lured in a staggering 26% of votes, ranking second only behind the liberal Austrians People’s Party, led by Sebastian Kurz, who also used populist racist messages during his campaign. Most worryingly, while other radical parties in Europe have largely been ostracised by their mainstream counterparts, in Austria the FPO party has managed to convert its electoral success by entering into a coalition of government, taking control of key ministries such as Defence, Foreign and Home Affairs.

Furthermore the radical Austrian Government joins ultra-nationalistic executives already in power in countries such as Hungary, where Viktor Urban has taken an ever greater xenophobic stance and Poland, where the government is behaving in an increasingly anti-democratic way.

Like the United States of Donald Trump, the anti-immigration message is the main weapon used by these types of parties, managing to spread fear among the population, based on the increasing number of refugees arriving into Europe in recent years.

Nevertheless, the rise of such parties is also the result of harsh austerity policies imposed on many Europeans during the recent economic crisis. Many of those citizens, who have been unprotected and disillusioned by neo-liberal policies, are now welcoming the right-wing populist movements, fuelled also by discontent with traditional parties, many of them tainted by corruption scandals.

Undermining the cohesion and harmony in Europe, especially within ethnic minorities, the growth of the far right is therefore the biggest challenge for the continent today. In 2018, attention will be focused on elections that will take place in Italy and Sweden, countries where extreme-right might achieve success.

That is why the reversal of this trend must also lead to the return of social affairs at the top of the European Union's political agenda, so that its foundational values ​​of equality and solidarity can triumph once again.

Photo: Screenshot youtube