Brexit and the Troubling Rise of Right-Wing Nationalist Movements across Europe

Authored By: Mary Macleod

On June 23, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.  The immediate consequences were a vast protest by the 48% of the country that did not want to leave the EU, the pound crashing to historical lows, and the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron. More troublingly, this vote also signaled the increasing anti-immigrant sentiments felt across Europe.

Moreover, the Brexit vote represents the first time a major European country successfully managed to close themselves off from the rest of the continent in an attempt to halt the flow of immigration to the UK. This vote signals an attempt to limit the number of refugees and immigrants that can enter the UK, and will likely affect the status of the nearly three million EU citizens that currently reside in the UK.

Other countries encouraged by the Brexit vote now want to leave the EU. For years, right-wing nationalist parties, including neo-Nazis, have picked up seats in parliaments throughout Europe. The current immigration crisis, spurred by the civil war in Syria, bolstered the voices criticizing the national immigration policies and the EU policy for open borders across its member states within the Schengen Area.

In France, the right-wing party Front national (FN) promotes protectionist policies, along with extreme anti-immigrant policies. The FN made news in the past for anti-Semitic, racist, and xenophobic comments. Frighteningly, the party received the largest percentage of the vote in France in 2015, with 28%. The current leader of FN, Marine Le Pen, praised the Brexit vote and said it represents the “patriotic” movements sweeping across Europe. Le Pen, who will likely make it to final rounds of the presidential race in France, says she will call for a vote to leave the EU.

            In Greece, Golden Dawn, a neofascist party, holds on to a small, yet disturbing, percentage of the parliament. In Hungary, the Fidesz party with the K.D.N.P., a Christian Democratic party, won the last two parliamentary elections. Furthermore, Jobbik, an anti-immigrant and protectionist party won 20% of the vote in Hungary.

In Germany, the Alternative for Germany party is polling at 12% for the 2017 national parliamentary election. In local elections in Berlin, on September 18, Alternative for Germany won 14.2% of the vote for the city’s legislature. Support for this party within Germany spiked after a rash of sexual assaults by immigrants in early 2016. The leader of the party, Frauke Petry, believes and promotes the idea that Islam has no place in Germany. If Alternative for Germany wins national seats in 2017, it will be the first right-wing party to win seats in the German Parliament since Hitler.

            These movements mirror attitudes that are also gaining traction in America. Donald Trump’s ideas, such as the closing of borders, protectionism, and anti-Islam policies, closely resemble the fervor in Europe. Brexit should serve as a warning that the success of extreme, racist driven right-wing parties is not an abstract possibility, rather it is a present reality. Voters should look to Europe and be very disturbed by the rise of right-wing parties. Moreover, the ascent of nationalistic and xenophobic ideals that have not been seen since the 1930s should trouble everyone because it signals the return of a horrible movement that the global community should struggle against.