"Clear Shift" Toward the Far Right: Anti-Immigrant Nationalists Gain Ground Across Europe

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Published 2024-06-11
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Residents in all 27 countries of the European Union went to the polls this weekend to vote for the European Parliament, which resulted in a surge of support for far-right parties across much of the continent while many liberal and Green parties stumbled. Far-right parties did especially well in Italy, Germany and France, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve the National Assembly and call snap elections. Lawmakers in the European Parliament can veto and shape laws, though they cannot introduce them. They also set the EU's budget and approve the selection of the European Commission president — a powerful role currently held by Ursula von der Leyen of the center-right European People's Party, which remains the strongest bloc. For more on European politics, we speak with Mehreen Khan, the economics editor at The Times of London and a former Brussels and EU correspondent for the Financial Times. Khan says that while some observers celebrated the relative strength of mainstream conservative parties, that is more a reflection of how successful racist, nationalist parties have been in reshaping the continent's politics, particularly on immigration. "These formerly center-right parties are now definitely occupying territory that we used to call that of the far right," she says.

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All Comments (21)
  • @Slowly_We_Rot
    Imagine thinking a people should care more about immigrants than themselves.
  • @igoravonich2013
    Europe is back on track and it's about time. Europe for Europeans.
  • @Red_sky-oj1dj
    Protecting your borders, heritage and culture is not "far right", it is just right. Common sense.
  • They’re not anti-immigrant they just want their cultures back. Scotland should belong to the Scotts, etc.
  • This generation of Elites and Oligarchs need a life lesson about human nature. History has taught us that it doesn't end well for them.
  • @ViktorScberg
    "OH NO THEY VOTING THE WRONG PEOPLE AND ITS A THREAT TO OUR DEMOCRACY" Every Liberals in tears right now
  • @Bodie-Boy
    Everything's 'far right' when you're 'far left'.
  • @fourflusher6043
    Look very closely, 9 out of 10 media outlets can't tell the difference between these terms: "Immigrant" and "Illegal Immigrant"
  • People waking up to keep the identity of their nation is not "far right."
  • @V12F1Demon
    Being anti-war and a focus on self development has now become 'far-right'!
  • @rovhalt6650
    FFS. We're not "far right". We're just right.
  • @joncooke9515
    And by Far Right, they mean everyone that isnt Extreme Left.
  • @RuderalisFPV
    Im not a republican, or a trump supporter, but calling anyone with common sense “far right” is pretty moronic
  • @Jaime-eg4eb
    If you move to the far left, the center will seem like the far right to you
  • @mm27567
    Its not far right , its just right. Stop lieing and fearmongering.
  • How can it be "far right" if 20-40% of people are voting for it? Wouldn't that make it definitionally center right?