On September 1st of this year something occurred in Germany for the first time since 1945. The Alternative for Deutschland (AFD) won a third of the votes (32.8%) in Germanys regional election. Not since WW2 has a “Far-Right” party performed so well, and we’re all painfully aware of the horrific consequences that followed as result of the prior occasion. (Info courtesy of al Jazeera)
Other noteworthy wins and or surges in popularity for the Far-Right in Europe include: Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, anti-Islam Dutch politician Geert Wilders and lastly the Nazi founded Austria Freedom Party, which garnered an unprecedented 29% of votes during the September 29th national election. Despite French President Emmanuel Macron barely able to retain power and Keir Starmer’s recent Labour Party’s victory the scene is set for a massive overhaul in European politics. (Info courtesy of NBC news)
Regarding Donald Trump and the United States upcoming presidential election in November, if Trump is triumphant and gains a non-consecutive 2nd term in the White House some of the worlds most stringent Democracies could alter drastically.
One massive shift in policy would likely pertain to the Russian/Ukraine war. Since the wars catayclysmic beginning in February 2022, virtually every EU and NATO nation has enthusiastically backed the Ukrainian war effort both economically and in providing military arms. As of September 2024 the European Union has allocated 126 billion dollars since the beginning of the war. The United States has distributed an obscenely generous total of 175 billion dollars as of April 2024. It’s safe to surmise that a dramatic shift in the current money tree benefitting Ukraine wouldn’t necessarily be a negative, but other policy changes that could transpire as a result of the far right successes would certainly be. (Info courtesy of cfr.org and eeas.europa.eu)
Far worse potential ramifications of a right wing swing include Xenophobia and Anti Islamic rhetoric leading to Racism inspired legislation. The AFD has promised radical changes in Germanys immigration friendly policies. Contrary to socioeconomic reasons which I mentioned in a previous article, these pledges are based primarily on racial, religious and cultural grounds. (Info courtesy of vox.com)
Another issue of immense importance is the deterioration of planet Earth due to the catastrophic damage caused by climate change. Donald Trump’s “Agenda 47” has professed his desire to double down on the use of fossil fuels. He’s called the Paris Climate Accords “meaningless” and assured to commit to on-shore drilling to reduce reliance on Chinese energy imports. (Info courtesy of chathamhouse.org)
Donald Trump is assuredly the giant orange elephant in the room when it comes to the potential far right takeover, but the direction of some major European Union nations may be the most consequential. We’ve alluded to the AFD in Germany, as well as the National Rally in France, but that’s merely the tip of the idealilogical iceberg.
There are currently six prime ministers in EU countries-Italy, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and the Czech Republic deemed “hard-right”. Victor Orban in Hungary can be considered the standard bearer of this eclectic group, yet each of these particular leaders have their own distinctive characteristics.
Starting with Italys 47 year old, blonde bombshell fascist loving, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. In 1992 at the ripe age of 15 Meloni joined the Youth Front of the Italian Social Movement, which was formed in 1946 as a neo fascist political party. That fact alone should give you a clear indication of her ideas on policy. (Info courtesy of politico.eu)
Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala has been described as “centre-right”, yet opposes same sex marriage, claimed climate change has “zero human impact ” and in 2016 stated “Radical Islam is at war with Europe.” (Info courtesy of euronews.com)
The ultimate question here is what has precipitated all of these nations to elect politicians with a variety of extremist views? My editorial posted last week, courtesy of Dangerous Globe, listed a laundry list of negative effects neoliberalism and globalization have inflicted on the whole of society. The principal issue of discontent has been, without question, mass migration.
In 2023 292,985 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe by way of the Mediterranean Sea. This was a 55% increase from 2022 and a whopping 93% increase since 2021. (Info courtesy of the International Organization for Migration)
Clearly the enormous upsurge in migration has become the paramount issue for many, if not all, of these far-right political parties. Viktor Orban’s quote, “The best migrant is the migrant that doesn’t come.” should give you a definitive indicator of the Far-Rights sentiments regarding mass migration. (Info courtesy of brainyquote.com)
Shifting back to Donald Trump, his thoughts on immigration is, by now, common knowledge. His principal policy promise during his first campaign for President in 2016 was to build an archaic, Berlin Wall inspired barrier along the Mexico-US border. By August 2020, portions of the wall were in danger of collapse due to erosion. Additionally, the US Attorney of the Southern District of New York revealed an indictment of four people, including Trump’s infamous former chief strategist Steve Bannon. Bannon and the others were charged with defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors illegally receiving funds designed to finance the walls construction. (Info courtesy of usnews.com)
I merely mentioned that last bit just to remind everyone Trump and most of his loyal sycophants are criminals. The point of referencing the idiotic wall abomination was simply to give additional insight to these people’s thought process, as well as, their objectives towards the subject of migration.
Politicians like Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer and their growing unpopularity can only hurt any chances of stemming the tide of the rapid rise in the Far-Rights assent.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a sympathetic view on the plight of refugees or migrants seeking a safe haven from intolerable living conditions. But using this issue to implement a certain political ideology without taking into consideration the welfare of both the migrants and citizens already living in the country is irresponsible.
It’s safe to assert there’s a massive global leadership void. War mongers such as, Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu and of course the dark under belly of the US inspired “Military Industrial Complex, are the entities which wield all the power at the present time. Israel’s Likud Party are not just Far-Right, they’re a murderous regime bent on the destruction of Palestine.
Putin and his authoritarian capitalist government are also beyond right wing, it’s a regime run by one man, who makes all the decisions and once a decade holds national elections which are totally absurd. The results are comically rigged, and any potential rivals to his power are either poisoned or imprisoned. In Novolnys case, sadly, it was both.
Even after chronicling all the potential pitfalls of a momentous far right takeover, still lies the question, could it be any worse than it is presently? Starting in the United States, the Roe vs Wade abortion statute has long been overturned, in 2023, the military budget was an obscene 820 billion dollars (13% of the federal budget) and during the same year their were an estimated 650,000 homeless people on any given night, a 12% increase from the previous year. (Info courtesy of endhomelessness.org and usafacts.org)
Four years of a Democrat in the White House has obviously not been very beneficial for some major societal issues.
The jury is still out for some of the nation’s we mentioned earlier, as to whether things will further cascade towards an even larger disaster. Despite the epically atrocious 8 year Conservative leadership in the UK, led by the likes of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, the current Labor Party P.M. Keir Starmer, leadership acumen in the early stages of his reign have subpar.
Can things get any worse for mankind? Could a sharp right wing turn bring fort more calamities? It does appear the world will soon find out.
Another great site by the Dangerous Globe
