The world is faced with new challenges to tackle as the New Year begins. The dying days of 2022 gave ample indications of the shape of things to come. Now, the contours are being clearly drawn. Things the world thought had been safely buried during the past few decades have now come alive with greater vigour and fury. Authoritarian rule, racial hatred, communal strife, anti-Semitism, minority abuses, anti-immigration policies, upsurge of pseudo-nationalistic fervour, anti-abortion movement and anti-LGBTQ+ issues are now posing threats to liberal norms in Europe, Asia and Israel like never before. A new trend that has surfaced is the capitulation of moderate elements even within Right-wing forces to the hate-filled politics of the Far-Right which is dictating terms to coalition governments in several countries of Europe.
Last week, the Migration Minister in Sweden’s new Right-wing administration unveiled the government’s plan to make it easier to cancel residence permits for immigrants. Maria Malmer Stenergard belongs to the Centre-Right Moderate party, but when she announced the new policy, Henrik Vinge, the deputy leader of the Radical-Right party, Sweden Democrats, sat beside her to make sure she did not deviate from the latter’s agenda against immigrants. This party sprang from neo-Nazi movements.
The stark reality is that though the Sweden Democrats is not part of the governing coalition, it has the power to influence policies as the government’s survival depends on its support. In the landmark election last September, this party emerged as the second largest. That changed the complexion of politics in Sweden that embraced the narrow, bigoted ideology of the Far-Right. The presence of Vinge at the announcement of the new immigration policy shows how Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson depends on the Sweden Democrats’ support to stay in office. For this he is ready to allow it to exert considerable influence, especially on issues such as migration and crime.
In Rome, one would find far more dangerous Far-Right political concoctions being made. The new Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, is steering the country to a precipitous neo-Fascist trajectory. Four years ago, her party managed to secure only 4 per cent votes. Now, with the help of the Far-Right party of Matteo Salvini she has captured power. The new mantra she chants is “Long live the Europe of patriots.” In the post-war European politics, Radical-Right parties were pushed to the margin. But, now they occupy the centre stage of mainstream politics.
In Paris, the rise of the Far-Right is remarkable, though its new leader Marine Le Pen, had to swallow defeat in the recent Presidential election. But, the way she has succeeded in increasing her support base indicates France is dangerously moving the Ultra-Right way. In fact, she prepares to contest a third presidential election when Emmanuel Macron’s term would end. A poll last December showed that 48 per cent of the French populace considers Le Pen and her party represent a “patriotic Right,” compared with 36 per cent who branded her as the leader of “nationalist and xenophobic Right.”
Denmark’s Social Democrats captured power in 2019 with the help of the anti-immigrant Danish People’s party. Recently, it won a second term and immediately thereafter the new government endorsed a cap on non-Western immigration. In fact, in 2021 Denmark became the first European country to try to send refugees back to Syria.
The question that is baffling the world is how the Radical Right could rise reversing the process of history. For a student of history, however, this is not baffling at all. The rise of the Right is a mere repetition of history.
Some experts hazard the guess that financial crunch, euro zone debt crisis and austerity measures of recent past turned the people increasingly against mainstream liberal parties. The Far-Right has exploited the sentiments to the hilt. The COVID-19 pandemic that wreaked havoc on global economy has only helped the Radical Right consolidate its position further.
The signs are ominous for liberal ideas to thrive in such a climate of intolerance and hatred prevailing across the globe. The New Year may, hopefully, have the key to a change of situation.