Europe: an extreme and identitarian right
It was a shock. For the Germans, for their beautiful democracy, for Europe. A xenophobic far-right movement, some of whose currents had never hidden their nostalgia for Nazism, became acceptable this September, winning resounding success at the polls in the largest country of the Twenty-Seven.
The last regional elections in Thuringia and Saxony, states of the former GDR, made the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) a key player in the German political game, while the parties of the government coalition in Berlin – social democrats, liberals and greens – fell to pitiful scores. Across the Rhine, even the far left is being challenged by a movement with conservative and identitarian overtones, the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW).
At a time when populists are gaining strength all over Europe, France and Germany, the driving forces of the European Union, have joined this groundswell, provoking governance crises in Paris and Berlin. How can this rise be explained? The identity parties have been able to smooth out their speeches. Their tribunes who evoked fascist nostalgia have been called to order. They are posing as the new virtuous, surfing on demagogy and, sometimes, conspiracy theories. Emerging weakened from the June elections, the EU is the perfect scapegoat, accused of imposing incomprehensible standards and destroying jobs.
These parties manage to convince voters that they will be able to defend order and local interests, and make public services work better. They are also driven by a climate-sceptic reaction against the accumulation of “green” rules.
But the main element remains the fear of the “great replacement” by immigrants from other cultures, especially Muslim. Many voters who voted RN or AFD without belonging to the extremes share the feeling that a certain pro-immigration liberal elite is deconstructing the history and cultural and religious values of their nations. A groundswell to which the moderate parties must respond.
