Coronavirus paving the road for new wave of far right terrorism

Shaimaa Hefzi

The coronavirus pandemic has invited attention to the importance of self-dependence, especially when it comes to the economy and production.

This idea feeds into the ideology of the far right in Europe. This is why there are expectations that the pandemic will empower the far right in the coming period.

Some European countries have witnessed a surge in threats from the far right, whose members accuse migrants of causing the contagion to spread in Europe, a hotspot for the disease.

Christina Schori Liang, a senior advisor and senior fellow at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, said the far right has been increasing presence in Europe since 2011.

It is especially growing in the United States, Europe and Australia, turning into an international threat, Liang said.

She described the increasing presence of the far right as far more dangerous than the coronavirus itself.

Liang said the far right succeeded in expanding its scope, thanks to the communication revolution and social media.

It also feeds on international developments, including the election of politicians like Barack Obama and Donald Trump and Britain’s exit from the European Union.

Liang said the far right has developed a fixed model for its attacks and discourse after these attacks.

Leader of the Socialist Democratic Party, part of the ruling coalition in Germany, Lars Klingbeil, complained against the conspiracy theories propagated by the far right in Germany, especially at this time of coronavirus outbreak.

The far right tries to destabilize Germany, using the conspiracy theory, the Deutsche Presse-Agentur quoted Klingbeil as saying.