Far right moving from populism to radicalism in Europe

Shaimaa Hefzi

The far right harbors special hostility to Muslims, Jews and foreigners in Europe, in general.

Despicable family

The despicable far right family includes populists, the haters of foreigners, and religious fundamentalists.

At the organizational level, the family contains political parties and movements and the cultural quarters that oppose globalization and free trade and preach against immigrants and refugees.

Conservatives hammered out alliances with the far right. In 2016, a new group was formed that was directly linked to the Alternative for Germany Party. The same group had links with the 1% network, which describes itself as the largest network of nationals in Germany. This network is treated as an extremist one by German authorities.

Rise

The far right as a concept emerged among the political elite in Germany. This extremist current succeeded in winning seats in the German parliament.

The term is not about the left any more. It is also about the right.

Syrian researcher Marwan Qublan conducted a study on the rise of the far right in Germany. In his study, Qublan tries to answer questions about why the right tends to become a far right.

The right, he says in the study, tends to use radical terms within the integration and seclusion duality.

It has more penchant to closeness, even as its space on the German political stage grows bigger and bigger, Qublan says of the right.

The political rise of the far right is dangerous in that it makes intolerance to foreigners an essential part of the political discourse in Europe, Qublan says in his study.

This is clear in strong opposition to migrants and cultural diversity, he adds.

He notes that the far right introduces itself as an alternative to the political elite in Europe now, with voters’ confidence in this elite reaching an all-time low.

Alternative for Germany

The German parliament contains 100 members who are affiliated to far-right parties, for the first time since World War II.

The Alternative for Germany Party had violated German national taboos several times in the past. In October 2017, the party launched a campaign against offering compensation for those negatively affected by Nazi crimes.

The party is the most populist far right one in Germany. It believes that Islam does not belong in Germany. It also thinks that allowing Muslims to live in Germany will lead to the Islamization of the German society.