Jean-Marie Le Pen, who lived to the age of 96, reminds us that extreme right populism has been a persistent feature of European politics since the rise of liberal democracy after World War II. First elected to the French parliament in 1956, Le Pen never attained the level of influence that his daughter commands today. This is because, during the golden years of European … [Read more...] about Why populists are winning: broken promises of liberal democracy
Far Right
Europe’s centrists are empowering the Far Right
At the start of the year, Austria marked the thirtieth anniversary of its accession to the European Union in 1995. However, this celebration was soon overshadowed by the collapse of coalition negotiations among the People’s Party (ÖVP), the Social Democrats (SPÖ), and the liberal NEOS.Europe’s The talks fell apart when NEOS withdrew, quickly followed by the ÖVP. Despite a … [Read more...] about Europe’s centrists are empowering the Far Right
Europe’s populists back Putin over Ukraine
Not content with only exercising control over former Soviet Union members, the Kremlin is increasing its support across the rest of Europe. One significant symbol of the pro-Russia swing was the decision by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party (AfD) to refuse to attend the speech by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to the German Bundestag on June 11th, … [Read more...] about Europe’s populists back Putin over Ukraine
Green backlash: EU, farmers and the Far Right
If your business or job is in a sector increasingly hit by the twin biodiversity and climate crises, do you demand deeper, more rapid climate measures or do you demand that environmental measures are weakened or binned? If you’re an EU farmer, the answer, it seems, is the second. Agriculture protests have spread across Europe in recent months from Greece to France to Poland to … [Read more...] about Green backlash: EU, farmers and the Far Right
What are we stumbling into?
Children play football in the sharp spring sunshine, bright voices bouncing round the walls of close-packed tenement housing. We have reached the right place.An ordinary neighbourhood for people living ordinary family lives: going to school, catching trams to work, buying bread in the corner shop. You have to look carefully to find evidence of deadly … [Read more...] about What are we stumbling into?