Category Archives: The far right

AfD narrowly loses first election since mass deportation meeting revelations

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District runoff in Thuringia closely watched to gauge whether huge protests against party have dented support

The far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland party has been narrowly beaten in its first electoral test since revelations came to light of its involvement in a plan for the mass deportation of foreigners that has sparked huge protests across Germany. Its candidate lost against a conservative rival in a district administrative election the importance of which resonated far beyond the local area.

In a tight second-round runoff in the district of Saale-Orla in the south-eastern state of Thuringia, the AfD candidate, Uwe Thrum, had victory snatched from him by his Christian Democrat (CDU) rival Christian Herrgott by 4.6 percentage points.

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Thousands across Austria take part in protests against far right

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‘Defend democracy’ events were planned for Innsbruck, Salzburg and in front of parliament building in Vienna

Thousands of Austrians have taken to the streets of the country’s three largest cities, in a spillover of protests over the rise of the far right in neighbouring Germany.

Under the slogan “defend democracy”, gatherings organised by a broad alliance of civil society organisations, NGOs, political groups, church communities and trade unions took place in Innsbruck, Salzburg, and in front of the parliament building in Vienna.

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Argentinians stage nationwide strike against Javier Milei’s far-right agenda

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Tens of thousands of marchers take to streets as schools and businesses close in protest at president’s extreme legislation

Argentine demonstrators have staged their biggest-yet show of opposition to Javier Milei’s radical attempt to reshape the South American country with a nationwide strike that shuttered schools and businesses, grounded hundreds of flights, and saw tens of thousands of marchers hit the streets.

Milei, a boisterous celebrity economist nicknamed “El Loco” (the Madman), became president in December vowing to free Argentina from decades of “decadence and decline” with his libertarian ideas. Since then, the far-right politician has moved speedily to implement what the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage recently called “Thatcherism on steroids” – first with a far-reaching emergency decree; then with a mega-reform bill known as the “omnibus law”.

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Germany considers entry ban on Austrian behind mass deportation plan

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Interior ministry considering options against Martin Sellner after days of protests against AfD

German authorities are closely examining the possibility of an entry ban for the far-right Austrian whose master plan for the deportation of immigrants is at the heart of a storm gripping Germany over the rightwing populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party.

Martin Sellner, the founder of the so-called Identitarian Movement, which preaches the superiority of European ethnic groups, could be banned from entering Germany if he is deemed to pose a threat to German democratic stability, according to members of the interior affairs committee of the Bundestag.

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‘Anti-European’ populists on track for big gains in EU elections, says report

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France, Poland and Austria among nine countries where radical rightwing parties predicted to finish first

Populist “anti-European” parties are heading for big gains in June’s European elections that could shift the parliament’s balance sharply to the right and jeopardise key pillars of the EU’s agenda including climate action, polling suggests.

Polling in all 27 EU member states, combined with modelling of how national parties performed in past European parliament elections, shows radical right parties are on course to finish first in nine countries including Austria, France and Poland.

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German court ruling sparks calls to stop state funding for far-right AfD

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Court rules in favour of pulling funding for Die Heimat because it sets out to undermine Germany democracy

A court decision to cut state funding to a minor far-right political party in Germany has sparked calls for similar rules to be applied to the much more significant rightwing populist AfD, which is at the centre of a storm over immigration policy.

The constitutional court ruled in favour of stopping public funding to the party Die Heimat (the homeland), successor to the National Democratic Party, NPD from 2023.

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‘You will not replace us’: a deadly attack on a Slovakian gay bar – and its link to a fast-spreading racist ideology

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Fifteen months after two men were shot in Bratislava, evidence suggests the killer may have been helped by an unidentified US-based extremist

The October evening was warm and sunny. At about 7pm, two young men stepped out of the Tepláreň bar on Zámocká Street in the centre of Bratislava, to sit on a concrete bench and drink lemonade. Matúš, 23, had just arrived in the Slovakian capital to study Chinese. His 26-year-old friend worked in a local clothes shop and enjoyed anime, K-pop and dance.

Standing in an alcove a few metres away was Juraj Krajčík. The 19-year-old had been loitering for about half an hour, witnesses later said. Shortly after the two patrons of the Tepláreň sat down, Krajčík stepped forward, raised a .45-calibre handgun and fired several shots at them. Then he turned and ran, gun in hand.

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Revealed: far-right figures try to create white nationalist ‘haven’ in Kentucky

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Venture fund and real estate startup linked to far-right groups promote residential development as community for rightwingers

A venture fund and a real estate startup – both with links to far-right organizations – are promoting a residential development in rural Kentucky as a haven for fellow rightwingers.

The promoters have presented the planned development as an “aligned community” for rightwingers who want to “disappear from the cultural insanity of the broader country” and “spearhead the revival of the region”.

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Fascist salute not a crime unless a risk to public order, Italy’s top court says

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Ruling by court of cassation allows gesture at rallies but not where it risks ‘revival of fascist party’

Performing the fascist salute is only a crime if it endangers public order or risks leading to a revival of the banned fascist party, Italy’s top court said in a ruling that has been hailed by neofascists.

In making its ruling on Thursday, the court of cassation ordered a second appeals trial for eight neofascist militants who made the salute during a commemorative event in Milan in 2016 marking the anniversary of the killing of a fellow militant in the city in 1975.

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AfD leader ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’, says German Social Democrats head

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Lars Klingbeil warns far-right party’s discussions of mass deportation sparked fear for millions across country

The co-leader of the German Social Democrats (SPD), the largest party in the Bundestag, has accused the leader of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) of being a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” as he warned that plans for mass deportation discussed at a secret meeting attended by its members had sparked fears for millions across the country.

In an extraordinary parliamentary debate on “fortifying democracy” in reaction to the far-right gathering that took place in November in Potsdam, Lars Klingbeil described the AfD as “rightwing extremist”. He accused the party leader and parliamentary head, Alice Weidel, of being a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” over her “teary-eyed” description of what she said was a “smear campaign” against the party. “Your facade is beginning to crumble,” he said. “The true face of the AfD is clearly coming to light.”

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Jetsetting Orbán is speed-dating global strongmen – but at what cost?

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Hungarian PM met a who’s who of rightwing leaders on his travels in 2023, as critics point to failures at home

Europe’s pariah prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is jetting across the globe in search of friends.

Hungary, an EU and Nato member that has been backsliding on democratic norms for more than a decade, has become even more isolated in the western club over the past months. Orbán has irritated allies by blocking a much-needed EU financial aid package for Ukraine, while Hungary’s parliament has dragged its feet on ratifying Sweden’s bid to join Nato.

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AfD plans to turn Germany into authoritarian state, vice-chancellor warns

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Robert Habeck tacitly backs calls to ban far-right party after it participated in meeting to discuss mass deportations

The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party is planning to transform Germany into an authoritarian state similar to Russia, the country’s vice-chancellor and economics minister, has warned, tacitly backing calls to ban the party.

Speaking a week after it emerged that party members had participated in a meeting to discuss mass deportations, allegedly including German citizens, Robert Habeck said the danger the party posed to democracy had been gravely underestimated.

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Macron criticised from all sides after ‘reactionary’ press conference

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French president wanted to reset second term but was accused of borrowing language from hard-right amid discontent in his party

Emmanuel Macron has faced a barrage of criticism across the political spectrum after a marathon press conference aimed at reinvigorating his turbulent second term in office.

The French president was accused of poaching from the hard-right playbook only a week after appointing Gabriel Attal, 34, the country’s youngest prime minister, and naming a government that shifted into conservative territory.

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Why Europe’s farmers are protesting – and the far right is taking note

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For some farmers already struggling, paying for more of their pollution is a step too far. Germany is the latest country to see anger boil over

The columns of tractors that have blocked roads in Germany, causing chaos in cities and headaches for commuters, are the latest wave in a growing tide of anger against efforts to protect Europe’s nature from the pollution pumped out by its farms.

In recent years, farmers in western Europe have fought with increasing ferocity against policies to protect the planet that they say cost too much. In the Netherlands, where the backlash has been strongest, a court ruling on nitrogen emissions in 2019 triggered furious and recurring protests over government efforts to close farms and cut the number of animals on them. In Belgium, similar fights led to convoys of tractors clogging the EU quarter of Brussels in March last year. In Ireland, which has seen smaller protests, dairy farmers angry at nitrogen restrictions marched with their cows to the offices of three government ministers last month.

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Macron looks to Sarkozy connection to head off far right in France

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Hiring of figures close to former rightwing leader Nicolas Sarkozy confirms president’s rightward shift

Emmanuel Macron has tilted the French government significantly to the right, bringing in key figures close to the former rightwing president Nicolas Sarkozy in an attempt to reinvigorate his second term and limit possible gains by the far right at the European elections.

“I don’t want managers, I want revolutionaries,” Macron told the first cabinet meeting of the new government led by Gabriel Attal, 34, France’s youngest ever prime minister. He called for “quick results”.

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Scholz urges unity against far right after mass deportation ‘masterplan’ revealed

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German chancellor condemns ‘fanatics with assimilation fantasies’ after reports about AfD meeting

Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has urged democrats to stand together against “fanatics with assimilation fantasies” after it emerged that politicians from the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party had discussed a “masterplan” for mass deportations in the event of the party coming to power.

The far-right meeting, involving members of the AfD, the head of the Identitarian Movement and neo-Nazi activists, took place last November at a countryside hotel on the outskirts of Potsdam.

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Neo-Nazis in the US no longer see backing Ukraine as a worthy cause

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Like mainstream Republicans blocking military aid, American rightwing extremists are disavowing a war they once admired

Two years into the war in Ukraine, once a destination for American extremists, many within the underground far-right movement in the US are avidly disavowing it and advising followers to stay away. Extremists now see the upcoming election year as tailor-made for activism on the home front.

At the outset of the war, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an intelligence bulletin that far-right American extremists were heading to the conflict and could use it to hone terrorist skills to bring back stateside.

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New French PM seeks to send strong message on law and order

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Gabriel Attal attempts to set tone as Macron government tries to counter rise of Marine Le Pen’s far-right

The new French prime minister, Gabriel Attal, has sent a strong message on law and order on his first full day in office, visiting a police station and promising to deliver security to “responsible working French people”, who he said wanted calm.

“There is no security without our police,” said Attal on Wednesday outside a police station in Ermont in the Val-d’Oise, setting the tone for his attempts to counter the rise of Marine Le Pen’s far-right.

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Gabriel Attal becomes youngest French PM as Macron tries to revive popularity

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Attal, 34, rose in opinion polls during his time as education minister and may help ruling party in EU elections

Emmanuel Macron has appointed France’s youngest-ever prime minister, Gabriel Attal, as he seeks to reinvigorate a difficult second term as president and limit any possible gains for the far right in the forthcoming European elections in June.

Attal, 34, who was serving as education minister, has been referred to as a “baby Macron” as he shares similar qualities to the president, such as his ambition, strong media presence and centrist politics. He is considered to be the best-known and most recognisable face of the close circle of young politicians around the president.

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Meloni urged to ban neofascist groups after crowds filmed saluting in Rome

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Hundreds of men shown making fascist salutes during gathering outside Italian Social Movement headquarters

Italian opposition leaders have called on Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government to ban neofascist groups after a chilling video emerged of hundreds of men making fascist salutes during an event in Rome.

The crowd was gathered outside the former headquarters of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), a neofascist party founded after the second world war which eventually morphed into Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party.

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