Europe's political landscape shifts as populist right gains ground

All European electoral contests, regardless of who comes to power, indicate one thing for sure: the rise of the right and the far right.

In the Netherlands this week, the Dutch Farmer-Citizen Movement, a new populist right-wing party, topped the polls after winning its first local elections on Thursday in what was considered a stinging rebuke to the ruling coalition of four parties supportive of the European Union. 

The Dutch Farmer-Citizen Movement is against some European policies and climate change restrictions and has gained support from rural areas. 

Notably, it also received moral support from Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French National Rally, and former US President Donald Trump.

The Farmer-Citizen Movement went from zero seats in local elections to 139 out of 572 seats that could give them a majority in the Senate elections in May. 

Before the Netherlands, Italy's right-wing Brothers of Italy party won the majority in Italian elections, increasing its seats from 47 to 87, enabling Georgia Meloni to assume the position of Prime Minister.

Before that, despite Macron's victory in the French presidency, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Rally and the right-wing alliance, secured more than 41 percent of the vote, registering a significant increase compared to 2017, when Le Pen received only 33 percent.

In Sweden as well, the far-right Swedish Democrats came in second for the first time, winning 73 seats compared to 61 in the previous elections. Although the left-wing Social Democrats maintained their lead, a right-wing coalition secured a majority to transition into governance.

In 2019, the conservative right in the UK won 365 seats in the House of Commons, an increase of more than 48 seats, in contrast to a devastating loss for the left at the time.

Today, the British Prime Minister is discussing with the European Union a mechanism for deporting refugees and illegal residents to the Union. 

Germany was the only exception where voters went against the European right-wing trend and significantly boosted the left.

In any case, Europe and the world as a whole are heading toward extremist political choices: the far left and the far right. 

The far-left attracts young people with concerns about climate change, gender rights, and support for globalization. In contrast, the far-right, which is socially conservative, attracts older age groups with concerns about refugees, localism, and the influence of globalization on local economies, and it has its strength in rural areas.