The extreme right advances in Europe. Georgia Meloni governs in Italy, support for the AfD rises in Germany, the cordon sanitaire is over in Sweden and, recently, an even greater rise of Vox in Spain. All of this is part of what Cas Mudde, a political scientist who is an expert on the European far right, defines as the fourth wave of post-war far-right politics, which began with the 21st century and is characterized by the normalization of radical right-wing parties. .
Are we seeing the crest of this fourth wave?
Not necessarily. But we are seeing a radicalization of the right in certain countries within the main party of the right, such as the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. In others, such as Italy, we see it in the shift from the mainstream right to the radical right, and in most countries we see both: a radicalization of the mainstream right but not becoming a fully radical right, as is the case in Hungary or the US and the emergence of a radical right, such as Spain or Sweden.
Vox doubled its voters in the last elections. If in 2019, it was said that Catalonia was the main cause of your success, what are the causes now?
The Catalan question created a space for a far-right party, which for some reason immigration did not. At the same time, Vox was never a party that was just about Catalonia. It was a party of right-wing people who were frustrated with the Popular Party because of corruption and partly because the PP was not right-wing enough. And then he benefited from the Covid and thus built his brand in those years. It is important to note that Vox has not really advanced compared to the last national elections. Rather, it consolidated its space at the local level. And he’s going to be with us for a while.
And the economic reasons?
In the early days, Vox was disproportionately supported by the very rich. Even if poor people vote for the far right, it does not mean that they do so for economic reasons. Much of the white working class, for example, lives in the more multicultural areas, where less has been invested. I’m not saying the economy doesn’t play a role at all, but it’s often used by the far right to say that if you’re poor it’s because of immigrants. So, they win.
Three ideas to beat the extreme right?
First of all, the most important thing is that it does not focus on defeating the extreme right, but on strengthening liberal democracy. If he defeats the extreme right, the dissatisfaction is still there. If satisfaction with liberal democracy strengthens, support for the ultra-right falls. Second, provide inspiring ideological programs. And third, be consistent and live up to your actions. Much of the success of the far right is related to the failures of others. Think Spain: without the massive PP corruption scandal, Vox probably wouldn’t be as successful. Without the massive corruption of the Social Democrats in Hungary and Poland, the far right would probably not be in power either.
One way to deal with the ultra-right is through the cordon sanitaire. What is the responsibility of the PP in the survival of Vox?
The greatest responsibility. A party like Vox, which largely defines itself as a right-wing party, will govern mainly or almost exclusively with the PP, so this gives the PP power and responsibility. The cordon sanitaire only works in the early stages when the far right is small and just getting started. That opportunity was wasted years ago, because, after a month of the first Vox results, the PP was already willing to talk to them. The responsibility of the PP is to do what a liberal democratic right-wing party does and, therefore, if it governs with Vox or with the support of Vox, that it always govern within the limits of liberal democracy. And that doesn’t mean you can’t limit immigration. But if he does, do it at the same time that he defends the human rights of immigrants without using nativist rhetoric [that combines nationalism and xenophobia].
Do far-right parties feed hostile sexism?
Yes. But they are not the only ones. The so-called gender ideology is a very popular term in the global south and particularly in Spain and Latin America. It is the idea that the whole concept of gender, femininity and masculinity is some kind of ploy by cultural Marxists to weaken the nation.
How dangerous is this speech?
Initially, the far right was what we call benevolent sexist in that men were seen as physically strong and women as weak. And it was up to the men to protect the women. Political violence against women was unacceptable because violence is not used against the weak. Now women are seen as powerful and violence against them has become legitimate. We have seen an increase in male supremacist or incel (involuntary celibate) violence, especially in the US, but not exclusively. That’s dangerous. Still, I think the threat to the LGBTQ community is greater, and even greater against trans people.
Does the Russian invasion of Ukraine benefit the far right?
Not necessarily in politics in general. But I think it has had an influence at the European level. It has broken the alliance between PiS (Poland) and Fidesz (Hungary), who were close to creating a far-right European group for the 2024 European elections. That is unlikely now, which is a great advance because of having joined it would have been a group that could not only have potentially obtained up to 25% of the vote and be the second largest group in the European Parliament, but would also have free seats in the European Council, which includes two major countries in Europe: Poland and Italy, and then Hungary. And so with the minor parties in Sweden and potentially in Spain, that would have been a group that could have really played a role. ECR is still a very important group, but without Identity and Democracy for the seats in Parliament, nor Orbán for the seat in the Council, it is much less powerful and relevant.
