Migration has pushed the far right in Italy. As Pierre Vercauteren explains, there is a growing distrust in the functioning of democracy.
Finally, far-right parties are changing their strategy today, especially with Tom van Kriegen for Vlams Belang or Jordan Bartella in the National Rally in France, with “great son-in-law” faces and attracting newcomers. Voter.
Will the far right dominate European elections?
In Germany, the far-right AfD party is in second place with 21% of voting intentions in recent polls. In FranceAn Ipsos poll shows Marine Le Pen's National Rally leading 29% in European elections.
In all these countries, the far right has permanently established itself in the political landscape. The only twist in Europe: The Poland. In the country, after 8 years in power, the ultra-conservative right-wing centrist opposition party was defeated. But the Populist Party is very powerful in Poland.
Inside with us Belgium, polls show that Vlaams Belang will get almost 28% of the vote in the next elections. Pierre Vercauteren explains: “According to the polls, we feel an upsurge, but it is important to note that there is a diversity of the extreme right. Each country has at least one extreme right depending on the evolution of the country. For example, the extreme right Italy is different from Hungary”.
For example, as in France, specifications may exist within a single country: “Eric Zemor's Far Right Is Not the Right Wing of the National Rally”, the political scientist notes. So there are different degrees of extreme right. We can easily observe this by observing the banners of the various far-right parties in the European Parliament.
The Italians of “Fratelli d'Italia” and the Poles of “PiS” are thus members of the group “European Conservatives and Reformists” (CRE). Like the elected representatives of the “Party of Finns”. On the other hand, the Italian MEPs affiliated with the “League” and the Dutch from the “Party for Independence” sit within the “Identity and Democracy” (ID) group, with the French representatives elected from the “National Rally” (RN) for example.
Viktor Orbán's Hungarian “Fidesz” was excluded from the “European People's Party” (EPP) group in March 2021 and finds itself among the unregistered. Many of the RN's French parliamentarians left this political group and joined Eric Zemor's “Reconquête” party.
In any case, according to polls, the far-right and far-right are declared in the European Parliament. In this context, securing a majority will undoubtedly be more complicated, especially in choosing the next president of the European Commission.
Focus on some countries: In Spain the far right is gaining ground in some regions
In Spain, although the far right has not taken power, it is still gaining ground. The far-right party “Vocs” will enter the government of Murcia in the fifth Spanish region, thanks to a coalition agreement concluded with the Popular Party (PP, right).
The two parties agreed to form a coalition government headed by the region's outgoing president, while Vox will be in charge of security and public affairs and benefit from the region's vice president post.
The deal brings the number of Spanish regions led by the far-right coalition to five, after Castile and León and Valencia, Extremadura and Aragon since last year.
Apart from 5 of the 17 regions where the PP and Vox have sealed the government coalition, the two parties have reached agreements in ten major cities in Spain. And these agreements have drawn much criticism, particularly from the left.
The case of Italy led by a far-right government
“Prondi” or “ready” in French. This is the slogan of the political party “Fratelli d'Italia”, allied with the “League” and “Forza Italia” (Editor's note, Berlusconi's party). From October 2022, the far-right, ultra-conservative and nationalist party is “ready” to govern Italy following elections.
Fratelli d'Italia (FdI), led by Giorgia Meloni since 2014, is considered a post-fascist party. Against immigration, he supports national sovereignty and heritage. The party, the country's leading force, won 26% of the vote in the last Italian elections, revealing a significant increase in the far-right vote in the country.
The case of Finland where the extreme right is part of the government
In Finland, the far right does not run the government, but is part of it. The current Prime Minister, from a centre-right party, governs in coalition with the far-right party “Finns”, which came second in the last elections with 20.1% of the vote.
One of the main characteristics of the “Party of Finns” consists in promoting an identity-based view of Finnish society. His high scores in the last elections allowed him to secure several posts in the government, including the financial support of Rika Burra, the deputy prime minister for the presidency.
Sweden's case is supported by far-right parties
In Sweden, things are a little different, as the “Sweden Democrats” (SD) party, founded by nationalists including neo-Nazis, supports the government without participating in it. Strictly speaking, the party votes for laws proposed by the executive and contributes to the definition of its political line, but none of the ministers come from its ranks.
Coming second in the legislative elections on 11 September, the far-right party was a member of the electoral coalition of the Right and the Far Right, which won the election. But why are they not part of the government? In particular, among some parts of this political coalition, there was a refusal to see far-right members in government, which prevented them from participating directly.
Ministers also come from Christian Democrats (conservatives) and Liberals (social liberals), led by Swedish administrator Ulf Kristerson (moderates, conservative liberal).
Does this rise threaten stability in Europe?
In 9 of the EU's 27 countries, the far right exceeded 20% in the last legislative elections. Does this rise threaten stability and peace in Europe? For Pierre Vercauteren, As long as they don't get a majority, pushback is not an immediate problem.
He is eligible for: “That being said, the far right is making progress, and that's leading to the weakening of other parties, and they still have to find coalitions. There, it's going to be very complicated.”
And Belgium?
Pierre Vergatteren explains that in Belgium, Flanders should be distinguished from Wallonia. “On the Flemish side, according to the polls, Vlaams Belong is very firmly on track to be the leading party in Flanders”A political scientist explains.
In Wallonia, it is different: “A small push from the extreme right is not impossible on the Walloon side. But the extreme right can be the first Walloon party without gaining some regions and districts and seats.”He adds.
It is clear that the rise to power in Europe of far-right parties espousing nationalism, anti-immigration and Euroscepticism is unstoppable. The far right is part of the European political landscape today.
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