During the migration crisis, right-wing populist parties in Europe enjoyed an enormous upswing.

But the same can only be said to a limited extent for the Corona crisis, according to the latest study by the Migration and Democracy Forum (MIDEM) at the Technical University of Dresden.

In considering the situation in various European countries, the researchers come to the conclusion that the right-wing populists could not become major beneficiaries of the pandemic.

But they have not lost their approval as a result of the crisis.

Johannes Leithäuser

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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Stefan Locke

Correspondent for Saxony and Thuringia based in Dresden.

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The study distinguishes two fundamentally different responses from right-wing populists to the Corona crisis - depending on whether they are part of the government in the respective countries or act as opposition parties.

Governing parties, such as the Pis party in Poland or Fidesz in Hungary, are therefore more inclined to depoliticize the Corona issue, while right-wing populist opposition parties used it to raise their profile.

The right-wing populists in the opposition often undertook a "radical change of course" at the beginning of the pandemic. Initially, tough measures by the state were often called for and supported, but then they turned around and sharply criticized the protective measures. “They went from advocates to critics of state measures and suddenly presented themselves as the guardians of individual freedom,” says study director and political scientist Hans Vorländer. "It's a radical, surprising move."

The scientists base their theses on the systematic evaluation of the appearances of right-wing populist parties on social internet platforms, in particular on Facebook. Right-wing populists there often did not fundamentally question the facts about the pandemic presented by experts; Instead, they tried to unilaterally expand the spectrum of opinion in their favor. In the summary of the study it is said, "It is mostly not about spreading conspiracy myths, but about pointing out alleged 'blind spots' in the Corona debate". The spread of conspiracy narratives is mostly reserved for other right-wing populist or right-wing extremist groups.

The criticisms of right-wing populists vary in European countries. Central and Eastern European parties with this orientation focused on a return to national sovereignty and demanded, for example, border closings or stricter border controls, thus building on their success in approving the issue of migration. Right-wing populist parties in Scandinavia or Western Europe, on the other hand, have focused on criticism of the European measures to cope with the economic and financial management of the Corona crisis and warned against the spread of the virus through irregular migration.

The “surprising swing” in the alignment applies in particular to the AfD in Germany, which at the beginning of the pandemic had called for the toughest state measures and when these came, suddenly became one of their sharpest critics.

Here, however, a split can also be observed within the AfD, explains Vorländer.

Federal spokesman Jörg Meuthen warned of the consequences of the Corona measures for the economy, especially with a view to the economically liberal side of the party.

The story of the "Great Reset"

On the other hand, the Thuringian AfD boss Björn Höcke, as the leading representative of the former “wing”, propagated the “Great Reset” thesis, which is popular with conspiracy believers, as the reason for the measures.

Accordingly, governments, media and, above all, the pharmaceutical industry used the crisis to install authoritarian regimes.