European Elections 2024: Shift to the far-right in Europe? “The far-right extremists have definitively and forcefully arrived at the heart of Europe; in many member states, they dictate the political agenda or are already in power. They aim for a Europe of nation-states. In the worst-case scenario, this means the end of the European Union as we know it,” writes Ulrich Ladurner on ZEIT ONLINE.
“With demands for withdrawal from the Euro and the EU, the far-right parties have now held back, as the costs would be too high. One could also say: The far-right extremists have become successful by moving towards the center. However, they are no less dangerous. The right-wing has also caused the traditional center to change. It has become more right-wing, adopting demands from the far-right.”
“However, the far-right extremists who now dictate the political agenda in Brussels and elsewhere remain fundamentally nationalists. And this does not align with the EU’s core values. The Union is not a project to overcome nations; it is a project to overcome nationalism.”
“The nationalists want to ‘repatriate’ as much sovereignty as possible to the member states. They do not want a strong EU; they do not want a functioning Union because they themselves want as much freedom of action as possible – to be ‘masters in their own house,’ without anyone interfering.”
Ladurner points out the external threat: “It is no coincidence that Russian attempts to influence aim precisely at dividing Europe and weakening its ability to act. Putin believes he can find partners for this plan among the far-right extremists. So far, the EU’s business has been drama. A lot of alarm, but in the end, it manages to get through crises quite well. Now it is entering a phase of decline. It could indeed be the beginning of its end.”
By the way, there is an interesting chart on the election results in Germany that is differentiated by gender – see below.
What does this tell us?
Posted by herCAREER,
published on LinkedIn on 10.06.2024
