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The surge of Europe’s hard-right parties is far from over
Despite recent election setbacks, their nativist, anti-immigrant stance continues to appeal to many voters.
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An Alternative for Germany rally taking place in Mannheim, Germany, on June 7.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
DeeperDive is a beta AI feature. Refer to full articles for the facts.
Here is a European paradox. Most of the continent’s big countries – Germany, France, Britain – are currently run by politicians belonging to a traditional left-wing or centrist political family. Germany’s Socialist Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been in power for years. Britain has just installed a centre-left Labour government. And when a coalition government finally emerges in France after that country’s inconclusive recent general election, it’s bound to be a left-wing one.
Curiously, however, the underlying political trend in all these countries is that of a meteoric rise in the electoral appeal of far-right nationalist political movements, which not merely challenge but plan to smash Europe’s long-established political systems.
