“The rise to power of far-right parties in Italy and Sweden is not a surprise”

Matthijs Rooduijn is a teacher-researcher in the department of political science at the University of Amsterdam, specializing in European populism. From north to south of Europe, the far right is gaining ground: it has made a strong entry into the National Assembly in France, largely determines the government program in Sweden and leads the ruling coalition in Italy .

What do Europe’s far-right parties have in common?

We must first agree on the qualifiers given to these formations. The names “postfascist” or “neo-Nazi” attached to them are not satisfactory. Even if the roots of some of these political movements go back to Fascism or Nazism – which is important to underline – they are different from the parties of the 1930s. obscure what is at the heart of their program, their ideology and their vision of the world, today.

These formations are based on common pillars: nativism, authoritarianism and populism. Nativism, which is a form of nationalism based on exclusion, makes a distinction between citizens who would be integrated into the nation and others who would remain outside. According to the parties, this second group of “outsiders” covers various categories of individuals: those who have another religion, those who belong to a minority or to a different ethnic group, immigrants… This attitude can therefore be expressed in several manners: anti-Semitism, racism, Islamophobia… But this nativism is for all these parties the main element of their ideology, around which their convictions are articulated.

Second, they share a form of authoritarianism, with the idea that society should be controlled more and that breaking the law should be severely punished, especially when committed by outsiders. As for their populism, it is based on the conviction that the “good people” are betrayed, neglected by a “demonic elite” – above all political, but also economic and cultural. The strength of their message lies in their ability to link nationalism and populism: the nation against the “Other”, and the people against the elites. Added to this is the belief among some that the elites are plotting to bring migrants into their country. This combination has made the success of the extreme right over the past thirty years. Finally, we find in these movements the proponents of conspiracy theories, such as those, recent, around the climate or the Covid-19.

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