As we can see a rise of right-wing parties around the world, it is very important to know what that means and how it would affect our lives. In this post, we will put a spotlight on right populism and some examples of Europe’s current political landscape.
It says, ‘Fight today for a better tomorrow,’ in the picture above. I want you to read this post with that thought in your mind and think about how your future should look like.
What is right populism?
Populism is a dangerous side effect of political competition. Right-wing populist parties use the emotions of voters in a devious way. They use complex political issues and offer easy solutions, which often reflect a very popular opinion among the ordinary people of a country. They make voters believe that there are problems where are none or point out issues not handled satisfyingly by the powerful “political elite”. Although in some cases, they point out real problems, by offering an easy solution they just want to attract voters. In reality, their solutions would fail terribly.
For example, migration is a very popular topic for right populists. By saying they would stop migration and make everyone go back to where they came from, they offer an easy solution. But their way of handling the situation would just lead to unnecessary death, poverty, human trafficking and it would even weaken their own countries’ economies. There are way better solutions, but by spreading fear and hate through disinformation and straightforward lies, they create a very dangerous environment, which again benefits them.
Another example is climate change. By saying it doesn’t exist they solve no problem at all, they just say what everybody wishes the reality would be. Nobody needs to worry, all is “normal”. They are solving a problem by saying there is no problem just because people are afraid to accept reality, but the issue isn’t solved, it just leads the way to a very dark future for everyone.
The populist wave
We can see a rise of the far right in almost every European country, I want to point out a few of those alarming developments.
Austria:
I could write a whole post about how concerning the developments in my home country are, but let us stick to the basics for now.
Austria, together with Germany, may have the most well-known history with right populists (I am referring to Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party), but still, it appears that the country has forgotten about its past. The Freedom Party (FPÖ), literally founded by an ex-Nazi and SS officer, leads the polls with 30% just one year ahead of the next election. The party’s leader refers to himself as “Volkskanzler”, a name historically used for Hitler.
The current success of the FPÖ is easily explained. It relies on classic populist opinions about topics like climate change, migration, and the cost of living crisis. But also on the weakness of the other parties, the corruption scandals within the mid-right ÖVP, and leadership fights within the left SPÖ.
Germany:
We see a very similar picture in Germany. The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is very similar to the FPÖ of Austria. In both of those parties, we find connections to Neonazis, right extremists, and occasional violations of laws against the return of Nazi ideas. Some regional groups of the AfD are even under observation by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and are labeled as assured right extremists.
In recent polls, we find the AfD in the second position, behind the mid-right Union (CDU/CSU). A participation in a future coalition is very likely at the moment, as the Union sympathises with some of the AfD’s opinions.
Italy:
In Italy, we have Giorgia Meloni, who became Western Europe’s first far-right postwar Prime Minister. She formed a coalition with Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini’s anti-migrant League.
She won by promising strict migration politics and the protection of Italian culture. So far she remained surprisingly moderate, but according to “Stern” magazine she remains Europe’s most dangerous woman. We will see if her extreme and for a long time very dominant character breaks through when confronted with more difficult challenges.
France:
Marine Le Pen scored a record 41.46% in the last presidential election, and current polls say she would win if an election would be held today.
In recent years her party Rassemblement National (RN) tries to sell itself as more moderate. They try to overcome the stigma of racism and xenophobia. Their “France for the French” campaign was replaced by a “improvement of French people’s lives” campaign. RN is the biggest single opposition party and tries to showcase its discipline and responsibility.
Hungary:
Prime Minister Victor Orban of the Fides party has been in power since 2010. He is in an ongoing clinch with the EU over his control over the courts, LGBTIQ+ rights, free journalism, corruption, and his relationship with Russia.
His governing style is branded as nationalist populism and he said that he prefers a more authoritarian system like those in China or Russia over the western liberal democracies.
If you are interested in the political future of the USA, I can recommend one of my other posts about Biden’s chances against the conservative right-wing Republicans.
A Future with right populism
The biggest benefit for the far right is that center and mid-right parties adopt opinions of the far right into their programs, which breaks a firewall against cooperations with the far right.
We see a normalization as the far right tries to establish a more moderate image. They try to downplay their support for Russia and their Euroscepticism, but also position themselves as a party of the people against the established elite and rising “wokeness”.
I don’t know what really happens with a right-wing Europe, but considering the experiences of some countries and Europe’s history itself, we have more than one reason to fight against this development.
Possible developments would include:
- structural racism
- increasing hole between rich and poor
- undermining of courts
- corruption
- criminalization of activists
- weakening of human rights
- increasing numbers of autocratic regimes
- undermining women rights
Finally, I want to point out that it is in our hands what happens and in which Europe we want to live, we can still vote, but we don’t know how that will change in the future. So, VOTE now!!!
“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.” ― George Carlin
