Understand the growth of the far right in Europe in recent years

The victory of a far-right coalition in the recent elections in Italy marks the arrival of extremism in the government of one of the most important countries in Europe.

With these results, Giorgia Meloni Eurosceptic party leader brothers from Italy – which claims dictator Benito Mussolini – becomes prime minister.

With the slogan “God, Fatherland and Family”, Meloni, 45, led a campaign based on Euroscepticism – that is, on the rejection of the European Union – and on anti-immigration policies, in addition to proposing the reduction of the rights of the LGBTQ community. and access to abortion.

Its rise marks the latest advance by the far right in Europe – whose Eurosceptic, anti-immigration and socially conservative agenda seems to transcend borders – that has been spreading across the continent in recent years and especially since the 2015 refugee crisis.

Here’s a glimpse of that growth:

Italy

The Brothers of Italy, led by Meloni, have now obtained 26% of the votes in this Sunday’s general elections (25), according to the preliminary count. Its main allies, Matteo Salvini’s La Liga and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, reached 9% and 8%, respectively.

With these numbers, it is a huge success especially for Meloni, whose party won just 4.5% of the vote in the previous elections in 2018.

It’s an impressive development for the young politician.

Meloni was one of the 2012 founders of the Brothers of Italy, an offshoot of the Italian Social Movement, a fascist party founded in 1946 by followers of Mussolini.

Meanwhile, his coalition partners Salvini and Berlusconi have dominated right-wing politics in the country in recent years, with Meloni serving in Berlusconi’s government.

Sweden

In early September, Swedish Democrats surprised by becoming the second minority in the country after their good results in the general election.

With neo-Nazi roots, the Swedish Democrats will play an important role in Swedish politics from now on.

Its popularity, like that of so many other far-right forces in Europe, soared after the 2015 migration crisis, when several European countries – including Sweden – decided to open their doors to refugees fleeing wars in Syria and Yemen.

Swedish Democrats won just 5.7% of the vote in the 2010 election, but grew to 12.9% in 2014 and 17.2% in 2018 after the crisis. And in September it rose to 20.5%, ranking second behind the Social Democrats.

Hungary

In power since 2010, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has built a power base precisely thanks to his anti-immigration policies, which have won him the support of far-right voters and crippled the opposition.

And as the migration crisis normalized, Orban and his Fidesz party turned their attention to members of the LGBT community: in April’s general election, his government also held a controversial referendum to ban sexual orientation education in schools, a move considered by some sectors as discriminatory.

Fidesz won again in these elections: it reached 53% and supported Orban, although the referendum did not reach the level of participation necessary to be valid.

Relations between Budapest and Brussels, in this context, have been very tense. In February, the Court of Justice of the European Union cleared the way to restrict the sending of funds to Hungary for failing to comply with European rules, especially by imposing political controls on the judiciary and the media and restricting basic rights.

And Orban’s good relationship with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president now involved in his invasion of Ukraine, further strained those relations.

Poland

Poland has also been hit by the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and may face restrictions on the transfer of funds from the European Union to public health, digitalization and environmental care programmes.

“Hungary and Poland have rapidly regressed in terms of freedom of the press, independence of judges and the right to protest,” said Amnesty International.

Former communist republics that suffered after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, both countries have benefited from economic aid since joining the European Union in 2004.

In the case of Poland, the right-wing Law and Justice party has ruled since 2015 and its current prime minister is Mateusz Morawiecki.

France

Behind Emmanuel Macron’s victories in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections in France is the shadow of the far-right Marine Le Pen of the National Front, who reached the second round both times.

Le Pen won 34% of the vote in 2017 (compared to Macron’s 66) and rose to 41% in 2022 (compared to Macron’s 59), consolidating his position as an alternative and closing the gap.

Currently, Le Pen, 53, is a member of the French National Assembly for Calais, the coastal city facing the United Kingdom, where immigrants heading to Britain are concentrated.

Le Pen opposes migration – and especially the influence of Islam in France – is Eurosceptic and defends economic nationalism, saying she represents French working classes who have suffered from globalization and technological progress.

She has also been a vocal admirer of Putin and is strongly opposed to NATO, of which France is one of its pillars.

The situation in other parts of Europe

Far-right parties are consolidated in almost the entire continent, although in all countries they are so close to positions of power.

In Germany, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party grew rapidly with its agenda against migrants and the European Union until it became the third force in 2017. Although its influence has since been reduced: currently the fifth force in the Bundestag, the German parliament with 79 seats.

While in Spain the Vox party, also with an agenda linked to the extreme right, is currently the third force in the Congress of Deputies, with 52 seats.

And in Austria, the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) is the fourth largest force with 30 seats. Its popularity, however, is in decline: in the last elections it won 17.3% of the vote, while in 2017 it had reached 26% and a space in the government coalition, which was later dissolved in 2019.

Contributed to the report: Kara Fox, Antonia Mortensen, Barbie Latza Nadeau, Nicola Ruotolo, Sharon Braithwaite and Valentina DiDonato.