Extreme right-wing and right-wing populist parties in Europe

July 2019, Werner T. Bauer, 158 pages

The electoral success of FPÖ in Austria is not an isolated case. Extreme right-wing and right-wing populist parties are on the rise in almost all European countries. Their political programmes are almost all the same: they are against any further immigration and denounce “asylum misuse”, they associate criminality and drug dealing with foreigners and open borders; they criticise the EU and reject the accession of Turkey; in socio-political terms, they are in favour of the traditional family, they support animal welfare and are opposed to same-sex marriage. In many cases, anti-Semitism of previous times has been replaced by anti-Islamism. Identity formation is based on the friend-enemy scheme "us down there, they up there". The methods of the new right-wing followers are also very similar: breaking taboos (“they dare to do something") is as much part of their repertoire as is xenophobia and criticism of capitalism. The majority of voters of right-wing populist parties belong to the lower social classes and the lower middle classes. Right-wing populists generally suffer setbacks, when they become part of the government and the moment of truth arrives. However, such government participations also result in a long-term shift to the right in respect of political issues and values. And over time, this populism also takes hold of established parties …

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