In order to please the voters
Democracy in Europe is tilting towards the far right
Marine Le Pen could win the French presidency in next year's elections.
Reuters
Viktor Orbán follows the traditional strongman style, neutralizing the media and the judiciary in order to establish himself in power.
Reuters
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There are political moments that live on in the memory.
I vividly remember standing at the Opera in Paris as I watched Jean-Marie Le Pen, president of the National Front, address a large crowd during the 2002 French presidential election. Nearby were members of Italy's far-right Forza Nuova party.
It felt like a new and dangerous moment for European democracy.
Almost 20 years later, far-right parties have become a familiar part of the European political scene.
In France, Jean-Marie's daughter, Marine Le Pen, became the leader of her father's party, which was renamed in 2018 the National Rally Party, which was disappointed last week when it failed to control any French region in the elections.
But Le Pen's party is now more powerful than it was 20 years ago.
Marin will carry the party flag in next year's elections, and she has a ostensible chance of winning.
The importance of right-wing parties
In most EU countries there are now far-right parties, which are very important. Of course, the term "extreme right" is controversial. Some prefer a label like "right-wing populist". But the parties that come together in the far-right caucuses of the European Parliament have rather harmonious qualities. They include anti-immigrant, especially Muslim, anti-elite rhetoric, support for conspiracy theories, conservative culture, nationalism, and hatred of the European Union. Thus there is an ambiguous position on the fascism that emerged in the 1930s, whether by Vichy in France, Mussolini in Italy, Franco in Spain, or Nazism in Germany and Austria.
The shadows of the 1930s now seem to hang over the European far right.
Which explains the anger that occurred in the European Union when the Austrian Freedom Party joined the government in 2000. And the fear when Le Pen reached the last round of the French presidential elections in 2002. At that time, the choice was clear;
Either the far right will be eliminated, or democracy will be in grave danger.
Nearly 20 years later, the situation has become even more murky.
The far right is more entrenched in Europe, but it looks more like a chronic disease than a mortal threat.
The right to rule
We have learned that far-right parties can participate in government without ending the democratic system, as happened in 1933 after Adolf Hitler formed a governing coalition in Berlin.
Far-right parties joined government coalitions in Austria, Italy, Estonia and Finland, and subsequently lost power.
Democracy is not finished.
The far-right parties at some stages ceded some of their extremist demands and lost popularity, which is what happened to the Finnish People's Party.
Some are preoccupied with bad scandals and lose popularity and power, as happened with the Freedom Party in Austria, and the Akri Party in Estonia.
But the process of democratic adjustment takes place in both ways.
Many major parties adopted policies supported by the far right in an effort to win over voters.
Denmark's ruling coalition took a tougher stance on immigration, threatening to return Syrian immigrants to their homes based on the unconvincing notion that their country was "safe."
In France, a prominent minister in President Emmanuel Macron's government accused Le Pen of "tolerance" towards Muslims.
Sweden is a candidate for right-wing rule
The next country where any party described as "ultra-right" can join the ruling coalition is Sweden, whose government has just fallen. The Swedish Democrats were once considered to be right-wing and extreme, due to their neo-Nazi roots, and today appear close to becoming part of power. The Swedish Democrats have moderated their rhetoric and image. But any Swedish government he joins could take negative stances on issues such as immigration and Muslims that would have been unimaginable a decade ago. Liberals will find this process frustrating, even horrifying. But on the other hand, it is the way in which democracy works. Popular sentiments change and political parties adjust accordingly.
But it is still too early to look optimistically at the capacity of European democracy to absorb far-right politics. There are two tests that could happen in the future. The first is what will happen when the extreme right rules alone and not within a coalition? Second, what would happen if one of the main European parties turned to the far right? This could happen in Italy, if the next government is based on two extreme right-wing parties, the Italian Brothers and the League. And it could happen in France if Le Pen wins the presidential election.
Evidence from Hungary and Poland is not encouraging about what the far right can do without partners to limit its freedom. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban is following the traditional strongman style, neutralizing the media and the judiciary to establish himself in power. And when German Chancellor Angela Merkel ends her term later this year, Orbán will be the longest-serving European politician in the EU, which may reflect more than just his peculiar appeal to voters.
The difficulty facing the European Union in accommodating a far-right leader was reflected in the increasing bitterness of the clash between Orban and most EU leaders.
But Hungary is a small country, so its influence on the EU as a whole can be absorbed.
But if Le Pen wins the French presidency next year, the impact of this shock will spread to the entire European continent.
It is possible that the union disintegrates under the weight of this shock.
Alternatively, the EU could follow the example of Europe's democratic nation-states and become an uneasy coalition between far-right politicians and other big political parties.
Gideon Rachman ■ Writer for the Financial Times
The far-right parties at some points ceded some of their extreme demands and lost popularity, which is what happened to the Finnish People's Party. Some are preoccupied with bad scandals and lose popularity and power, as happened with the Freedom Party in Austria, and the Akri Party in Estonia.
It is still too early to look optimistically at the capacity of European democracy to absorb far-right politics. There are two tests that could happen in the future. The first is what will happen when the extreme right rules alone and not within a coalition? Second, what would happen if one of the main European parties turned to the far right? This can happen in Italy.
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