Far-right political movements achieved power in Europe a century ago, wrecking parliamentary democracies and instigating wars of conquest and genocide. Today’s far-right populists are not the same as yesteryear’s fascists, but their growing popularity on a prosperous, mostly peaceful continent has caught many observers by surprise.
In the elections for the European Parliament in early June, there was a clear shift to the right even as the center-right Christian Democrats remained the largest group in the 720-seat body. According to an Associated Press tally, the party of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni more than doubled its seats. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) surpassed Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, even after AfD member Maxmillian Krah said not all members of Hitler’s SS should automatically be considered criminals. The SS, or Schutzstaffel, was one of the chief perpetrators of the Holocaust.
Yet it would be wrong to conclude that Europe, with its stated commitment to human rights and market economics, is hurtling toward a far-right revolution. The center-left Labor Party is returning to power after 14 years in the wilderness as elections in the United Kingdom handed the ruling Conservative Party a major defeat. In France, the left-wing New Popular Front pulled off a shocking victory against the far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen, which finished third behind President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in the second round of snap elections.
In this episode of History As It Happens, political scientist Veronica Anghel of the European University Institute in Italy assesses the appeal of far-right parties in today’s Europe, from opposition to globalization to resentment of Muslim and African migrants.
“There are different reasons in different countries, and we need to look at them individually. There’s never a single reason for the rise of far-right preferences,” Ms. Anghel said. “Most people would trace this to the financial crisis in 2008 and the austerity measures in many countries.”
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