A fresh wave of hard-right populism is stalking Europe
In Germany, the AfD are weaponising climate change
A spectre is haunting Europe: the spectre of a rising hard right. In Germany the overtly xenophobic Alternative for Germany (afd) has surged to become the country’s second-most popular party. Its success is polarising domestic politics and it seems poised to triumph in state elections in the east next year. In Poland the ruling Law and Justice party is leading the polls ahead of a general election on October 15th, and it is being drawn further to the right by an extreme new party, Confederation.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “The real threat from Europe’s hard right”
More from Leaders
The Putinisation of central Europe
Austria could soon get its most extreme chancellor since the 1940s
To see what European business could become, look to the Nordics
The region produces an impressive number of corporate giants
Smarter incentives would help India adapt to climate change
It is the biggest test case for how hot, hard-up countries can cope
Tech is coming to Washington. Prepare for a clash of cultures
Out of Trumpian chaos and contradiction, something good might just emerge
The Starmer government looks a poor guardian of England’s improving schools
It is fiddling with what works and not yet dealing with what doesn’t
Finland’s seizure of a tanker shows how to fight Russian sabotage
The growing threat to undersea cables demands a robust response