How far can European far-right parties "counterattack"?

There are many factors behind the rise of the extreme right forces in Europe, which are closely related to many economic and social problems such as employment, immigration and security. After the Austrian presidential election, whether the ultra-right forces in Europe will continue the current momentum and really challenge or even replace the traditional big parties of the center left and the center right deserves close attention.

The extreme right is becoming a climate.

Compared with the traditional right wing, the extreme right wing advocates more extreme and extreme ideas, which are manifested in populism, xenophobia and anti-European integration tendencies, such as rejecting or even hating foreign immigrants and opposing social pluralism. It is worth noting that there is no unified concept and distinguishing standard for "extreme right wing" in academic circles and media, and there are different names such as "right-wing populism" and "radical right wing".

Previously, when European media mentioned far-right parties, they were usually labeled as "minority" and "non-mainstream", but now they have become a political force to be reckoned with in European politics, affecting many European countries.

In western Europe, the French far-right party, the National Front, won 25% of the votes and 24 seats in the European Parliament election last May, surpassing the socialist party and the two mainstream parties. Marina Le Pen, President of the National Front, is currently leading in the opinion polls and has become a popular candidate for the 20 17 presidential election.

Even in Germany, which was most wary of the extreme right forces after World War II, the extreme right forces have obviously risen in recent years. Since June 20 14, 10, many people have formed the "European Patriot Movement to Resist the Islamization of the West", which regularly meets in Dresden and calls for strict control of Muslim immigrants. At present, the relatively stable right-wing populist party, the German Choice Party, is also attracting supporters with an anti-EU and anti-refugee attitude. According to a recent poll by German media organizations, the support rate of Germany's choice party reached a record 15%, close to the traditional big party, the German Social Democratic Party.

In northern Europe, the Swedish far-right party, the Democratic Party, is now the third largest party in parliament, while the Danish right-wing populist party, the Danish People's Party, is the second largest party in parliament and an important member of the ruling Coalition. In addition, Poland, Hungary and other Central and Eastern European countries have become the main positions of the extreme right wing.

Take advantage of the crisis

In view of the "counterattack" momentum of the far right, many experts believe that this is directly related to the changes in the European environment in recent years. At present, Europe is in troubled times, the shadow of the debt crisis has not completely dissipated, and the refugee crisis and the threat of terrorism have followed one after another, which has led to the concentrated outbreak of various social contradictions in Europe and contributed to the disappointment of voters. Under the fluctuation of popular support, the far-right party uses the crisis to create momentum and cater to the voters' mood, and it is easy to become a topic party or topic party in its heyday, and then win votes.

The picture shows that on March 27th, extreme right-wingers held a demonstration in a place to mourn the victims of the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium.

In contrast, some traditional big parties in European countries, whether they belong to the center-left or the center-right, are becoming more and more intermediate and homogeneous in their political views, lacking the skills to deal with the crisis and losing their appeal to voters, especially young voters.

Take Austria as an example. Although its economic situation is better than that of most other European countries, many Austrians still think that refugee integration, European debt rescue plan and globalization threaten their prospects, and then they are dissatisfied with the current political situation.

Shen Xiaoquan, an expert on European issues at the Center for World Studies of Xinhua News Agency, believes that many European voters now believe that the so-called "elite politics" led by traditional political parties has failed and cannot solve the current predicament, and then turn to far-right parties.

Huang, an assistant researcher at the European Institute of China Academy of Social Sciences, said that the refugee crisis and terrorist attacks are the catalysts for the rise of far-right political parties in Europe. The fundamental reason is that mainstream political parties have "little effect" in stimulating economic growth and increasing employment rate after the European debt crisis, which has increased the disappointment of voters.

In addition, some extreme right-wing parties have actively adjusted their strategies in recent years to dilute extreme colors and enhance their attractiveness. Take France as an example. After taking charge of the French National Front, Marina Le Pen put forward the idea of "de-demonizing", that is, changing the image of the National Front as an extreme political party. She also came up with a more specific economic plan, advocating defending France's economic sovereignty and withdrawing from the euro zone. Similarly, in the Austrian presidential election, Hofer refused to admit that he belonged to the extreme right wing and called himself the center right wing to attract a wider range of voters.

The contradiction of people's mentality

From the past experience, the ups and downs of the extreme right forces in Europe are accompanied by economic prosperity, and there are often periodic changes. When the economy is prosperous and the society is stable, the voice of advocating national integration and European integration is stronger; When the economy is in recession or in crisis, people often look for "punching bags" and "punish" traditional political parties with votes.

Shen Xiaoquan believes that the European people are contradictory at this stage. On the one hand, they hope that the extreme right party will help the country get rid of the current predicament and solve practical problems; On the other hand, I am worried that the country will repeat the mistakes of the history of World War II, and the far-right party will bring painful disasters to the country.

As long as Europe does not really get out of the crisis mode, far-right parties can still gain momentum, and the trend of "turning right" in European politics will continue. However, Huang pointed out that far-right parties mainly attract votes through their speeches on the crisis. If they can't solve social difficulties in internal affairs, such as improving employment and developing the economy, their support rate will drop. In addition, generally speaking, even if the far-right party comes to power, its internal and external views will not be so extreme, otherwise it will bear enormous international pressure and even political sanctions.