The far right has been rising in Europe for years, but last month’s electoral breakthrough in Saxony-Anhalt by the Alternative for Germany party, or Af D, felt seismic. For the first time in Germany’s postwar history, a far-right party stands on the brink of power. The Af D joins a legion of others, not least Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, either in office or perilously close to it.
In a written online conversation, Tim Schneider, an editor in Times Opinion, hosted David Broder, author of “Mussolini’s Grandchildren”; Caroline de Gruyter, a columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC; and Mattia Ferraresi, a writer for the Italian newspaper QN, to discuss Europe’s thriving far right, the roots of its success, its plans for power and, of course, what President Trump has to do with it all.
Broder argues nativist parties obsessed with civilizational decline have become major forces after the 2008 crisis eroded mainstream parties. De Gruyter says far-right parties fill the void left by incompetent governments, but only win when center parties start copying them. Ferraresi points to a post-Cold War crisis of liberalism that failed to deliver on welfare, growth, identity and meaning.
On whether the far right appeals mainly to older workers in deindustrialized areas, Ferraresi insists the real driver is identity, not economics — “It’s the identity, stupid!” Broder adds that even the National Rally’s support is now rising faster among white-collar groups.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing