The Rise of Europe’s Far Right
Europe is pissed, and they’re making their voices heard loud and clear. Already, the rise of populist anger has led to Britain’s exit from the European Union. But if the EU establishment continues to ignore the groundswell of discontentment in the population, we might see other countries leave the union.
America’s political establishment made the costly mistake of underestimating Donald Trump. When Trump announced his candidacy, riding down a golden escalator, the establishment media and Washington elite dismissed his campaign. They called him a fringe candidate who would never gain critical mass. But to their horror, Donald Trump steadily rose in the polls. He started winning primaries, and now he is the Republican nominee. In many respected opinion polls, Donald Trump now leads Hillary Clinton by a narrow margin. Americans are facing the very real possibility of having a President Trump in the White House come January 2017.
Europe is now making the same fatal mistake. By underestimating the popularity of far right nationalist movements like PEGIDA, UKIP, Golden Dawn, National Front, they are setting a dangerous atmosphere of complacency. Hillary Clinton never thought that she would be tied in national polls with a narcissistic ego maniac who called Mexican immigrants “rapists & murderers”. Her blatant disregard for average voters, shown by her obscene multi million dollar fundraisers and generous donations from Wall Street have alienated large segments of America’s Independents and Progressives.
Likewise in Europe, the mismanagement of the refugee crisis, tough economic conditions, the threat of terrorism, perceived political correctness, are all combining to create the perfect conditions for Europe’s far right parties to rise. For the first time since the Great Depression, Europe could witness a far right party being elected to power.
The threat is very real. In France, Marie Le Pen of the far right National Front is leading in opinion polls ahead of France’s 2017 Presidential Elections. Incumbent French President François Hollande’s approval ratings are at an all time low of 12%. In the wake of several terrorist attacks from the Charlie Hebdo shootings, the November 13th Paris massacre, the attacks in Nice and the brutal murder of a French Priest in Normandy, French voters are upset at what they see as a deteriorating state of security. 67% of French voters do not trust their government to tackle the threat of terrorism.
In Germany, Angela Merkel’s approval ratings have also taken a dive. In a May opinion survey by INSA for Cicero Magazine, 64% of respondents said Merkel’s should not run for re-election. Despite a relatively strong German economy, the German electorate is becoming increasingly critical of Merkel’s administration, much of it due to the influx of refugees. 89% of Germans want limits imposed on the inflow of refugees. In a January 2016 poll, 56% of Germans believe that Angela Merkel has lost control of the refugee crisis.
In Austria, the far right Freedom Party of Austria narrowly lost the 2016 Presidential Elections by a margin of only 0.6%. Now The Austrian Constitutional Court has ruled that the presidential election must be held again.
Across Europe, Euro-skepticism is on the rise. In the Netherlands, voters are split (46–43) on whether to remain or leave the EU. Opposition to the EU now runs at 60% in France and a whopping 71% in Greece. The damning results reflects the monumental task faced by Brussels in restoring confidence in the organisation after the financial crisis and its handling of the influx of refugees. In 2004, 69% of French voters and 58% of German voters backed the EU — while not a single country reported a net negative rating.
The European Union was conceived from the ashes of World War 2 in the hopes of building an integrated Europe that would live in peace. But now many Europeans are losing faith in the European experiment. This is an ominous warning to Europe. The facts don’t lie. It is up to Angela Merkel, François Hollande and the leaders of Europe to fix a divided EU. Ignoring the dissatisfaction of the electorate may just be the main reason for the far rights unprecedented success.
