Pan-European, far-right youth group formed

FOUR EUROPEAN far-right parties have joined forces to form a European youth movement called Young European Alliance for Hope, or “Yeah”.

The alliance includes the youth wings of France’s National Front, Austria’s Freedom Party, Belgium’s Vlaams Belang and the Sweden Democrats.

Henrik Arnstad, a Swedish journalist and author of a book on the history of fascism, said it was no coincidence that Yeah was formed in the run-up to the May European Parliament election.

“Not since the 1930s have so many Europeans voted for right-wing, extremist parties,” said Mr Arnstad. “In the Nordic countries, they have never been this strong, so there are great opportunities now for them to become more forceful politically.”

Mr Arnstad said that when it comes to the Sweden Democrats, there is great animosity between the mother party and the youth wing. “There is a deep conflict. The youths are much more radical and have greater tolerance for extremists. Many are fed up with what they regard as a turn towards political correctness within the mother party since it entered parliament in 2010.” A spokesman for the European Jewish Congress said: “Jewish communities in Europe are concerned that organisations that play the race card with impunity and attack our basic religious rights at every opportunity will be represented in the European Parliament following May’s election. “We urge all mainstream forces to mobilise voters ahead of the elections so that neither extremism nor apathy will emerge as the winners.”

Martin Kinnunen, a spokesman for the Sweden Democrats, said the party’s youth wing had not consulted the main party before forming Yeah. However, he added that the Sweden Democrats had not ruled out collaborating with the other three parties within the new grouping.