Just concluded European Union elections constituted another important step for far-right parties on the continent. They have racked up gains in many of the 27 EU countries, and the surprising scale of their victories is shake up the political establishment there and attracting attention in the United States.
The parts’ success embarrassed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz by overtaking his party and prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to call early legislative elections.
While the votes were still being counted on Tuesday, the gain for the right is just the latest example of how discontent with globalization And immigration fed a conservative and populist reaction in rich Western democracies. Former President Donald Trump victory 2016 is the most prominent example, but it is unclear whether the trends that have fueled the right in Europe will allow him to win another mandate. in November.
Indeed, aside from these striking parallels, there are key differences between the dynamics in Europe and the United States. And even with the right’s gains in the last European elections, the political center will likely retain control of the country. European Parliament.
“We are clearly at one of those points where the wind can blow either way,” said Charlies A. Kupchan, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
WHAT FOOD THE RIGHT IN EUROPE?
All EU countries have different political dynamics, and European parliamentary elections are often an opportunity for voters in each country to symbolically vote against those in power in their own country, since they are voting for the people who will take office in their own country. Brussels rather than their own capital. There was also a global crisis negative reactions towards incumbents this seems to have no ideological basis.
But the resurgence of the right in Europe is more than symbolic or random. It is fueled by frustration over the EU migrant crisis – a frustration that the right has been quick to amplify on online platforms – as well as regulations on climate change and other issues that were seen as hitting rural and less educated residents harder. Economic growth in much of Europe stagnated since the global recession of 2008, further fueling discontent with the status quo.
Far-right or populist parties are now at the helm of Italy and Slovakia and are part of ruling coalitions in other countries such as Finland, Sweden and, soon, the Netherlands.
Generally speaking, the strongest support for the right on the continent is among rural voters who have lower levels of education than those in urban areas and who say they are more comfortable with economic and social aspects of globalization. This all probably sounds very familiar to American voters, where similar divisions have been seen between Trump’s Republicans and President Joe Biden’s Democrats.
IS TRUMP SURFING THE SAME WAVE?
Trump has embraced the European rightin particular the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbanwhose so-called “illiberal democracy” has made him an icon for conservative populists who…
