Name: Far-right politics gaining influence across Europe
Uploaded: 2025-12-28T16:59:49.641Z
Duration: 2 min 28 s
Description: Far-right politics have pushed further into the mainstream across much of Europe. Populist parties, even in opposition, are shaping national debates on migration and the economy. The trend reflects growing voter frustration over living costs, borders and political trust.

Far-right politics have pushed further into the mainstream across much of Europe. Populist parties, even in opposition, are shaping national debates on migration and the economy. The trend reflects growing voter frustration over living costs, borders and political trust.

Berlin

Far-right political parties are experiencing a surge in support across Europe, as highlighted by recent rallies and opinion polls. In France, Marine Le Pen's National Rally has gained a commanding lead, while similar trends are seen in Italy, the UK, and Germany, where the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is now polling neck and neck with the governing Christian Democratic Union in Berlin.

Analysts attribute this rise to widespread anti-establishment sentiment, influenced in part by rhetoric from the Trump administration. In regions like Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD could potentially win a majority in upcoming state elections, marking a significant shift in the political landscape after years of exclusion by mainstream parties.

Far-right politics gaining influence across Europe

It was a moment last summer when supporters of the far right across Europe came together to hear prominent politicians speak of drastic cuts to immigration and a deeply conservative approach. It was part of what they called the festival of victory. Winning power has been Marine Le Pen's goal for decades. Now she believes her party has never been closer. The French do not need a puppet vote. They don't need a staged democracy. They need a real effective vote that is new legislative elections in the service of the recovery of our country. Across the channel the far right has a similarly high profile leader. Nigel Farage says his views on immigration chime with those of millions of Britons. One of the biggest reasons for that vote to happen was the deep alarm at the huge numbers of people coming into our country. The fact that effectively we had open borders making us poorer in every way. A glance at opinion polls across Europe shows how wide the appeal of the far right has become. It's already in power in Italy with 31 percent of the vote. In France the national rally has a commanding lead with more than a third of the vote. Reform UK has a similar advantage. And then there's the alternative for Germany which is neck and neck with the governing Christian Democratic Union in Berlin. But what is behind the trend? There's a cross-country sentiment which is much also fired up by by the Trump administration with their rhetoric that anti-establishment anti-system actually is the way to go. Perhaps nowhere exemplifies that more than Saxony-Anhalt run by the Christian Democrats for almost 25 years. Now the AfD leads in the polls. A recent survey suggests it has a realistic chance of winning a majority in the state election there in September which would allow the party to claim seats here Germany's upper house of parliament where only state governments are represented. For the past 12 years the mainstream parties have tried to keep the AfD out of power at any level. Now it seems many traditionally conservative voters may want it in power at some of the highest. Dominic Cain, Al Jazeera, Berlin.

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