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The Dangerous Shift of Right-Wing Parties in Europe
In recent years, right-wing parties have grown exponentially in many European countries.
24/12/2024
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
Right-wing parties have grown exponentially in many European countries, including Austria, where the Austrian Freedom Party won the last elections, as described here (CNN):
“The Freedom Party secured the first far-right national parliamentary election victory in post-World War II Austria on Sunday, finishing ahead of the governing conservatives after tapping into anxieties about immigration, inflation, Ukraine, and other issues. However, its chances of governing remain unclear. Preliminary official results showed the Freedom Party finishing first with 29.2% of the vote, while Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party was second with 26.5%. The center-left Social Democrats placed third with 21%. The outgoing government – a coalition of Nehammer’s party and the environmentalist Greens – lost its majority in the lower house of parliament. Herbert Kickl, a former interior minister and long-time campaign strategist, has led the Freedom Party since 2021 and aims to become chancellor. However, he would need a coalition partner to secure a parliamentary majority. Rivals have stated they will not work with Kickl in government.”
Other parties have been meeting to discuss forming a new government without Kickl. In my opinion, this is good news. The Austrian Freedom Party is notorious for its offensive slurs against immigrants and the second generation. These messages have been prominently featured in election advertisements for decades and displayed across Austria during election campaigns. Many European countries now face the critical question of how to address right-wing parties that enjoy significant public support. These parties often claim that their exclusion from government amounts to discrimination and is unconstitutional. Furthermore, some argue that measures like banning far-right newspapers or forbidding entire parties are undemocratic. I have observed this rhetoric circulating for quite some time now, and it seems to be spreading faster than COVID-19.
I disagree with this viewpoint. A democracy doesn’t need to tolerate everything. When these parties spread intolerant messages, promote racist ideologies, or grow too large, the risk of harm to others becomes significant. When they do not pose a danger to people, we may choose to allow them to spread their message. These parties often claim to be moderates, not extremists. For some individuals, this may appear true. However, what we have observed is deeply concerning, even if not always overt. More overt trends include far-right groups organizing weekly marches in large numbers through German cities—an alarming phenomenon that began many years ago and was a complete shock to people like me. These marches spread fear and terror among those who don’t belong to their group.
In my opinion, prohibiting a party that spreads racist ideas is always better done sooner rather than later, even when they claim to be moderate and that forbidding a party is undemocratic. In my mind, it really depends. In order not to repeat history, we may sometimes have to forbid a party in order to preserve our freedoms and democracy. Whether a party is moderate or not should be observed by neutral people on the outside, not by those who sympathize with the party or its members, who may have been influenced to believe it is moderate and harmless.
The rise of far-right parties in countries like Germany, as seen with the Alternative for Germany (AfD), is alarming, especially when viewed through the lens of history. If history has taught us anything, it is that vigilance and decisive action are essential to safeguarding democracy.
The way the Austrian Freedom Party operates is often not overt, which can cause confusion for those who expect its members to be openly racist and frequently shout slurs at others. While some members may behave this way, others do not. However, once you get to know some of the members over time, you may begin to discern some of their hidden goals. For example, my ex-husband’s former lawyer—an Austrian who had studied Sinology and law—was a colleague at the University of Vienna and a former friend with whom I had spent a great deal of time in the past. He seemed very liberal and friendly toward foreign cultures such as the Chinese, and had a long-term Chinese girlfriend for many years. But was he still racist? Perhaps not overtly so.
But once I had children, I sensed that he viewed them as worth less than fully Austrian children. Over time, his attitude toward me also changed; he seemed to view me as less than a woman who had only dated Austrian men or one who hadn’t given birth to mixed children. Although he was secretive enough not to openly discuss these views, I still experienced covert racism from him in certain circumstances.
As a white woman, particularly one who was married to a Chinese man and has Austrian-Chinese children, I have experienced reverse racism quite a bit. Some claim reverse racism doesn’t exist, but like any kind of racism, it does. Having lived in China, I have experienced it while living there, but I have also experienced it from white men.
Are you concerned about recent trends in Europe?