The Rise of Europe's New Right

Austria: The Freedom Party, the staunchly anti-immigrant party of rightist Joerg Haider, joined Austria's coalition government in 2000. This prompted the European Union to hit the alpine nation with seven months of punishing sanctions.

Although support has eroded from 27 percent to 16 percent, the party remains part of the ruling coalition. Haider continues to be a thorn in the side of Europe's mainstream politicians, who frequently criticize him for statements they perceive as anti-foreigner or anti-Semitic.

Belgium: Vlaams Blok (Flemish Bloc), the far-right party, favors independence for Flanders, Belgium's Dutch-speaking northern half. A significant force in national and local politics, the party also advocates a stop to immigration and the expulsion of immigrants who fail to assimilate into Belgian culture.

Vlaams Blok holds about 15.5 percent of seats in the Flemish parliament and is the biggest party in Antwerp, the nation's second-largest city.

Britain: British National Party, the anti-immigrant party, is accused of triggering riots between white and South Asian youths in several northern England towns last summer.

Although the BNP is small and perceived as marginal, the governing Labor Party has warned leaders not to underestimate the impact of the BNP's 68 candidates in local elections held across England.

Denmark: The Progress Party and People's Party are on the right in Denmark. The Progress Party was founded in 1972 by rightist Mogens Glistrup, who has raised eyebrows — and concerns — by calling for all Muslims to be expelled from Denmark.

In 1995, the People's Party broke from Glistrup and is now the country's main rightist party, though it is seen as far more moderate than the Progress Party; it holds 22 seats in the 179-member parliament.

France: The National Front, is the party of extreme nationalist and one-time French presidential hopeful Jean-Marie Le Pen. Immigrants are a favorite target and are blamed for modern French ills such as high unemployment and violent crime.

Le Pen founded the party in 1972 but didn't make a splash in French politics until 1984. He surprised everyone when he finished second in the 2002 presidential primary with 16.86 percent of the vote, but lost in a runoff a month later to incumbent Jacques Chirac, who got more than 80 percent of the vote. Le Pen advocates France for the French first.

Germany: Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government and the parliament have been trying to ban the National Democratic Party, Germany's far-right party. They contend that it foments skinhead violence and espouses neo-Nazi ideology.

Although the party is electorally insignificant, the government wants to outlaw it to keep it off the airwaves and away from state campaign funds. The effort is a response to a wave of hate crimes against foreigners and Jews in 2000 that drew international concern.

Italy: National Alliance and Northern League, Italy's far-right parties, is are part of the coalition government of the country's conservative president, media magnate Silvio Berlusconi.

The National Alliance finished third with 12 percent of the vote in last year's national elections. The party is a direct descendent of Mussolini's Fascist party counts among its members Mussolini's granddaughter, Alessandra Mussolini.

Also in the governing coalition is the Northern League, headed by far-rightist Umberto Bossi, whose anti-immigrant sentiment has earned him comparisons to Austria's Joerg Haider. The League has advocated secession for Italy's affluent north, and Bossi recently urged lawmakers to rush through legislation to deport jobless immigrants.

Netherlands: Leefbaar Nederland (Livable Netherlands) is the fledgling right-wing party of slain politcian Pim Fortuyn. The party stunned the Netherlands in March 2002, when it won 35 percent of the vote for city council seats in Rotterdam, the second-largest city.

Fortuyn advocated a ban on immigration and has criticized Islam as a "backward culture." He was gunned down outside an Amsterdam radio station, just days before the May 2002 election in which his party was expected to claim 17 percent of the vote.

An animal rights activist is being accused of killing Fortuyn, 54, an ex-professor of sociology. Fortuyn has become something of a political martyr. In an unprecedented move, his body lay in state at Rotterdam Cathedral, and Prime Minister Wim Kok led mourners at the funeral Mass.

Norway: Party of Progress is the party in Norway known for its extreme-right anti-immigration views. It won 25 seats in the 165-seat parliament in September 2001 elections, no change from its showing in the 1997 vote.

Although it is right-wing by Norwegian standards, even its critics are reluctant to compare it with far-right parties in Austria or France because it doesn't embrace neo-Nazi or extremist views. Even so, its leader, Carl I. Hagen, calls Le Pen's strong showing an understandable response to France's "all-too-soft immigration policy.

Portugal: Portuguese parliamentary elections held this March saw the Popular party win 14 seats, after polling almost 9% of the vote. The fiercely anti-immigration party, led by crusading rightwing journalist Paulo Portas, is now part of a rightwing coalition. Mr Portas has pledged to introduce tight immigration limits and to prevent the transfer of further national powers to the European Union.

Spain: The far right is not currently a significant force in Spanish politics. Spain has had years of democratic government - mostly by socialists - since the death of its nationalist leader, General Franco, in 1975.

However an outbreak of racial violence in the southern town of El Ejido in early 2000 was seen by some as a warning sign. El Ejido's mayor blamed extreme right-wingers for inciting violence which erupted after funeral of a woman killed while being robbed by a Moroccan immigrant.

Huge numbers of Moroccan immigrants work in Spain mainly as low-paid agricultural laborers. This number is expected to rise in the future - and there are fears that the far right could find increasing support in communities with large immigrant populations.

Sweden: Sweden has no organized far-right parties, but immigrants account for about one million of Sweden's population of nearly 10 million, and the number is growing. You can expect a far right party to

Switzerland: The extreme right Swiss People's Party (SVP) is a considerable political force in the country. However, its leader, former international businessman Christoph Blocher, was denied a cabinet seat after making significant poll gains in 1999. The SVP also has a moderate wing led by its single minister in the four-party cabinet, the federal council.

But the moderate wing has been almost eclipsed by Mr Blocher's rise in the eastern, German-speaking regions of Switzerland during the past decade. This was fuelled by opposition to immigration and closer political ties with the EU. At the last elections the SVP also made significant gains in French-speaking areas.

Osprey Comment: The single most important factor for the rise of the New-Right in Europe is the increase in immigration. As too many immigrants come into a nation than can be assimilated there becomes a strain on governmental and civic resources not to mention cultural clashes. No one wants to see their cultural and national identity destroyed. Since most if not all western nations have no standards (as they once did) for immigrants who come into a country then a large criminal element will take advantage of this. With the increase in crime the citizens of that nation will get fed-up and vote for the party that offers a solution. That means a far-right party because the moderate and left-wing don't really care about the safety of their citizens.....they only care about the immigrant vote, just as it is here in the United States.

20 June, 2006