In London, the shift to the right in Europe’s voter polls is being watched with stomach ache: The traditional newspaper “Times” sees the greatest danger in the AfD.
The British daily newspaper “The Times”, one of the country’s most popular papers, commented on Saturday on the strengthening of right-wing populist and right-wing extremist parties in Europe. The biggest concern is the AfD in Germany:
“Socially conservative and intolerant nationalism is propping up populist governments in Hungary and Poland. The far right has won seats in Greece, is part of the coalition in Finland – like Sweden was once a bastion of social democracy – and is now the governing party in Italy. Perhaps most worrying for much of Europe is the growing appeal of the AfD in Germany, now the second-largest party, ahead of the social democrats,” the British newspaper said.
The “Times” explains the current high-altitude flight of right-wing nationalist and partly anti-democratic parties with diffuse fears in the population, an incomplete understanding of heated social debates and spending on progressive political goals.
“The appeal of the far right rests on fears of uncontrolled immigration, the loss of national identity, the challenge of globalization and confusion over woke politics and culture wars, and the costs of ‘progressive’ politics, particularly on the environment,” the Times said.
“Times”: Populism is spilling over
The newspaper sees it as counterproductive that established centrist parties are now also resorting to the tactics and rhetoric of their populist competitors: “Ironically, established parties are adopting the politics of the far right in the hope of being able to rob them of supporters. This will only bring these parties more recognition.”
However, this trend is not only apparent in continental Europe. The phenomenon is also well-known in the home country of The Times, where the conservative British government repeatedly relies on populism in election campaigns and in its government program. Just a few weeks ago, for example, the Tory Party’s Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, failed in her attempt to deport a large number of refugees to Rwanda without giving them the opportunity to apply for asylum.
Those affected should then have asked this in the African country, where, according to the human rights organization Amnesty International, there is a lack of freedom of expression, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly, as well as fair trials. A British court halted preparations for a first deportation flight in the fall, but Braverman is sticking to her plan.
