Europe’s current far-right parties
As anti-refugee fervour and smouldering anger at the European Union’s economic policies burst forth, far-right parties have come to the fore, some with xenophobic and nativist rhetoric similar to Donald Trump’s. Five prominent ones recently announced they would form a bloc, led by the head of France’s National Front, Marine Le Pen. France: National Front
Leader: Marine Le Pen The xenophobic party pulls about 28 per cent of the vote in a country now governed by an unpopular socialist president. But although it won a “historic” two seats in the 348-seat senate, it was edged out in recent regional elections. The party has been accused of anti-Semitism, and Marine’s father, former leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, was convicted of inciting hatred against Muslims in 2005. A Donald Trump supporter, he said he would vote for him if he were American. Italy: Northern League
Leader: Matteo Salvini Steadily rising in the polls, the anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT, anti-Europe party has benefitted from the refugee crisis and the flamboyant macho image of Salvini, whose stunts include posing for the popular Oggi magazine, sporting a party tie. The League has boosted its popularity in the past five years from about 13 per cent to a current 17-per-cent support in polls. It’s enough to make the party a kingmaker, but not a kingpin. Netherlands: Freedom Party
Leader: Geert Wilders One of the best-known far-right leaders, Wilders rivals Donald Trump for his eccentric blond bouffant hairdo and outrageous rhetoric. He has urged juvenile offenders to be locked in a “village for scum,” and labelled Muslim men “Islamic testosterone bombs” who threaten Western women. With only 15 out of 150 parliamentary seats, his approval rating has soared. A recent poll shows he could take as many as 41 seats now. Austria: Freedom Party
Leader: Heinz-Christian Strache Under a telegenic 46-year-old leader, the party is trying to distance itself from the racist, neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic tone of some of its members. Strache has dialed back Islamophobic rhetoric, saying that “asylum is a right,” but not for “economic migrants.” The moderation has paid off. His party jumped from 34 to 40 of 183 seats in parliament over five years and won an impressive 30 per cent of the traditionally left-wing Vienna vote in regional elections. Belgium: Flemish Interest
Leaders: Frank Vanhecke, Filip Dewinter, Gerolf Annemans Springing from an earlier party convicted of racism in 2004, separatist Flemish Interest prides itself on radicalism, xenophobia and “Flemish values.” One of its ideologues, Roeland Raes, was convicted in 2001 for questioning the magnitude of persecution of Jews in the Holocaust. Now the party rails against immigrants and transfers of Flemish money to Frenchspeaking Belgium and the EU. But it has lost ground to more moderate parties, with only 6-per-cent support. Hungary: Jobbik
Leader: Gabor Vona After rocketing onto the political landscape in 2010 with 17 per cent of the vote in general elections, it rose to as much as 20 per cent in opinion polls. Known as the Movement for a Better Hungary, it calls itself “radically patriotic” and Christian. But the party’s views are anti-Roma, ultranationalist and anti-Semitic: a court ruled it could be labelled neo-Nazi. Some supporters shifted to the less controversial ruling Fidesz party, and Jobbik’s backing declined. Greece: Golden Dawn
Leader: Nikos Michaloliakos Once shunned as a fringe extremist party, Golden Dawn shocked the country by winning 18 of 300 seats in parliament in 2012 and becoming the third-most-popular party in Greece. Its support soared with antiausterity protests, in spite of frequent allegations of violence against minorities. Its leader is under house arrest awaiting trial on charges of “directing a criminal organization,” after the murder of a popular rap artist. More than 60 lawmakers and party members were also jailed. Denmark: Danish People’s Party
Leader: Pia Kjaersgaard Formed as a protest, the far-right People’s Party was carried to near-victory by Kjaersgaard, now speaker of parliament. The anti-immigration party came second in 2015 elections with 21 per cent of the vote, but refused to join a Liberal-led coalition. Now Kjaersgaard has a political edge as she plays on fears of floods of refugees she says could dilute Danish identity and drain Denmark’s economy. She denies racism, but with her backing harsh measures have been passed against newcomers.