The longstanding effort to keep extremist forces out of government in Europe is officially over.

For decades, political parties of all kinds joined forces to keep the hard-right far from the levers of power. Today, this strategy — known in France as a cordon sanitaire(or firewall) — is falling apart, as populist and nationalist parties grow in strength across the Continent.

Six EU countries — Italy, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and the Czech Republic — have hard-right parties in government. In Sweden, the survival of the executive relies on a confidence and supply agreement with the nationalist Sweden Democrats, the second-largest force in parliament. In the Netherlands, the anti-Islamic firebrand Geert Wilders is on the verge of power, having sealed a historic dealto form the most right-wing government in recent Dutch history.

Meanwhile, hard-right parties are dominating the polls across much of Europe. In France, far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is cruising at over 30 percent, far ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, according to POLITICO’s Poll of Polls. Across the Rhine, Alternative for Germany, a party under police surveillance for its extremist views, is polling second, head-to-head with the Social Democrats.

  • @smiletolerantly
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    66 months ago

    I… What?

    If I were to plot all of your positions on the political compass, would that draw Rick Astley…?

    • @vane@lemmy.world
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      26 months ago

      Because of people like you Europe will die, because people are divided on those who are allowed to speak and who can’t speak freely about what they feel because they’re scared they would be laughted from and marginalized or more likely canceled - just like you did laughted my comment.

      • @smiletolerantly
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        86 months ago

        Hmmm nooo, I have no problem with you speaking, I’m just pointing out that what you speak makes no sense. That’s just free speech :)

        • @vane@lemmy.world
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          26 months ago

          Well I fell the same about your text. Maybe that’s what people are, they write without sense and read without sense.