The number of votes that Nigel Farage and his Reform UK party managed to acquire in the 2024 General Election raised eyebrows in Great Britain over the potential for populism to raise its head in mainstream politics. However, this is merely a drop in the ocean when compared to the events taking place on the European continent and in the USA.
Donald Trump’s first actions as President made through his executive orders, signed in front of a crowd of supporters, included policies such as the removal of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Laws; the opening of an immigration detention centre in Guantanamo Bay; the end of birthright citizenship; and many others.
Not only do these policies pander to the right wing, but they also closely resemble policies taken by nationalist regimes in the 1930s, such as the ‘othering’ of non-nationals, and targeting LGBTQ groups. If that wasn’t enough, Trump’s right-hand man made a ‘Roman’ salute to crowds at an event after his inauguration.
[Trump's policies] closely resemble policies taken by nationalist regimes in the 1930s,
One only has to look at a few of the ‘fourteen early signs of fascism’ displayed in the Washington Holocaust Memorial Museum to see the dangers of Trump 2.0:
(1) Powerful and enduring nationalism
(2) Disdain for Human Rights
(3) Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
(5) Rampant Sexism
(7) Obsession with national security
(13) Rampant cronyism and corruption
The rise of the far right in mainstream politics is also clear in Germany, with the rise of the Alternative für Deutschland Party. The AfD’s election campaign has gained them a large support base but has also included some unsavoury tactics. The AfD delivered flyers to migrant households which resembled one-way plane tickets to a ‘safe country of origin’ and claimed that ‘only remigration can save Germany’, a clear incitement of racial hatred towards these migrant groups.
The party has also benefitted from tech billionaire Elon Musk’s recent endorsement of far-right European politics and figures such as Tommy Robinson. Musk appeared via video call at an AfD event in January and told spectators that they should not ‘be guilty of the sins of their grandparents’ and to ‘move beyond’ the guilt.
European leaders should call out the actions of Trump and Musk more directly, rather than pandering, and sweeping it under the rug, pretending ‘they can’t be that bad.’
The recent gains and actions of those on the far right paint a bleak picture for the future of politics, such that former Conservative MP, Lord Heseltine, compared the current global political climate to the 1930s.
There is, however, more that can be done to combat such forces. Those on the left and centre, and even the soft right should be doing more, to stand up to the populists who seek to gain power through division. European leaders should call out the actions of Trump and Musk more directly, rather than pandering, and sweeping it under the rug, pretending ‘they can’t be that bad.’