Europe’s ‘Era Of Far Right’

This time, this scribe would like to touch upon a development that has given a jolt to Europe’s traditionally ruling parties, now finding themselves not only out of government but witnessing rightwing and far right teams governing their countries. The “moderate”, “centrists”, “left” and “liberals” have been swept out from the helm of the state affairs. 

With several “right wing” coalition cabinets installed in as many European countries, of late, their political opponents are expressing deep consternation over the development. A solitary government of a right wing group could have been dismissed as a chance. Not when Italy and Sweden also follow suit to be governed by parties, some of whose coalition constituents have had roots to extreme rightists.

Recent developments indicate the political direction the continent is heading towards. The so-called self-styled “liberals” have been taken aback over the trend so closely watched worldwide. On the other hand, messages of warm greetings from like-minded governments from the continent suggest that an upbeat mood has gripped the “rightists”, often distanced by ideological opponents as “pariah”.

Stunning success 

In countries where a rightwing government are not yet within sight, the changes in Italy and Sweden, not to speak of others, including the one in Hungary, gives them reasons greater hopes. Inequality irks the fringe not only in Italy but all over Europe. Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, 45, was installed as Italy’s first female prime minister in October at the head a political party that collected 26 per cent of the votes cast in the September election, which predictably threw up a heavily hung parliament. 

The consequent conditions created quite a few king makers, compelling them to exchange schemes and combinations for a new government. After four weeks, they finally cobbled together a team under Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy, founded in 2012, rubs shoulder with the rightwing League of Matteo Salvini and former Berlusconi’s conservative Forza Italia.  (Meloni and her journalist partner, who works for former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s conglomerate, have a six-year-old daughter.)

The Democratic Party, which shared power with other groups frequently in the past, could not succeed in power brokerage, though it emerged as the single-largest party in the recent hustings. It has been a dramatic rise to power for the Brothers of Italy — from a paltry 4.3 per cent of the vote secured in 2018 to more than a quarter of the total votes cast four years later. 

Italy’s first far-right premier after World War II, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, founded in 2012, has had neo-fascist roots includes in her coalition two rightwing parties. The League party is Eurosceptic while Matteo Salvini wants sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine be scrapped. In fact, Berlusconi, who praises Russian President Vldimir Putin, wants a “decent” government to replace Ukraine’s current government headed by Zelensky’s. A spate of best wishes notes from like-minded foreign leaders to the new Italian premier offers an eloquent commentary on the mood and hopes raised for especially other right wing parties in Europe. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, disdained by other ideological groups, marks Italy’s installation of the Meloni-led government as a “big day for the European Right”. His popularity among Hungarians is reflected by the fact that has been serving as prime minister since 2010 after an earlier four-stint in the same office from 1998-2002. A Eurosceptic, he considers his success as an outcome of his shift toward “illiberal democracy”, modelled on some of the traits of governance in China, India, Singapore, Russia and Turkey.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Twitted: “Throughout Europe, patriots are coming to power and with them, this Europe of nations.” Hard hit by the heavy lockdown clamped in 2020 at the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy’s economy was shaken severely, one of the worst in Europe. Meloni stands against granting automatic citizenship to children of immigrants born in Italy. Unhappy with economic migrants, she previously recommended a naval blockade on migrants heading from northern Africa.

Meloni’s 24-member government has aboard the ultra-conservative Catholic Eugenia Maria Roccella as minister for family, birthrates and equal opportunities. In all 24 ministers, pulling together the rightwing but disparate group of parties intact will be a stupendous task for any prime minister. Italy, after all, has had more than four dozen governments in the post-World War II decades. Elections have the habit of tossing up fractured parliaments. 

Rise of the right

In a major setback to the so-called centrists and other forces, the right wing in Sweden, too, formed a coalition team recently. A nation of ten million people, Sweden is one of the most envied countries when it comes to extensive social welfare services, whereby basic services “from birth to death” are guaranteed. 

Magdalena Andersson, the Nordic country’s first female prime minister, had the support of 73 MPs for her Social Democrats as against 76 for the Moderate Party’s Ulf Kristersson, who formed the new government in partnership with the far-right Social Democrats. More than 20 per cent of the vote went to the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats that emerged as the second-largest political party this year. Founded in 1988, it finally found parliamentary space in 2010 and progressively improved in every subsequent election. 

Traditional power centres in the West are dismayed that Hungary’s President Viktor Orban is a Russia-supporting right wing leader. In France, too, the far right made a significant presence in the French legislature. 

With right wing groups having been established as a major force to reckon with in an increasing number of European countries, their political cousins elsewhere on the continent are encouraged. They hope that their political fortunes, too, will be taking a ride for the better even as the trend has had some sobering effects on their ideological opponents as to what went wrong with their policies and practices. 

How long the trend for the rightists will last is another point of note that will be closely watched and analysed. Their ideological opponents will need to work over time for their side of the story to convince voters again.

(Professor Kharel specialises in political communication.)