The sequence has become dismally familiar. Piling up votes in provincial and rural areas at the expense of mainstream parties, a far-right movement celebrates an outstanding election result in a European Union member state. Its leader proclaims “a new era” and delightedly receives congratulations from Marine Le Pen, Viktor Orbán and Geert Wilders. Minority ethnic groups, and Muslims in particular, feel less safe and less at home in a country where many of them were born.
And repeat. A clear first-place finish for the Austrian Freedom party (FPÖ) in Sunday’s election follows a similar performance by Ms Le Pen’s Rassemblement National in the recent snap election in France. Last month, across Austria’s northern border, a far-right party won a German state election for the first time since the second world war. In Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the Czech Republic, the authoritarian right either governs or wields significant influence.
Even in this egregious company, the climate-denying, Russia-friendly FPÖ stands out. Founded by former SS members in the aftermath of the second world war, under the leadership of Jörg Haider the party anticipated the current wave of ethnocentric nationalism at the turn of the century. Its current leader, Herbert Kickl, an ideologue in the Haider mould, views Mr Orbán as his modern role model. Blazing a nefarious trail, he has borrowed and popularised ideas from fringe extremist groups such as Generation Identity – notably the concept of “remigration”, or forced repatriation, in order to restore Austria’s “homogenous people”. Developing their own Orbán-style rhetoric, FPÖ politicians have accused LGBT+ groups of promoting “globohomo ideology”. Having carved out an anti-vaccine niche during the pandemic, Mr Kickl has been at the forefront of Covid-related conspiracy theories.
That such a party and such a leader should win the most votes in a liberal democracy – though not an overall majority – is a dismaying sign of the times. After a fashion, the increasingly threadbare cordon sanitaire intended to keep Europe’s far right at bay is once again being deployed. Austria’s conservative People’s party (ÖVP), which finished second, will refuse to be part of any coalition led by Mr Kickl. But its potential willingness to do a deal in other circumstances testifies to the ongoing normalisation of extreme politics across the continent. Sadly, Austria also has form on this, having tolerated an FPÖ presence in government twice before.
For mainstream parties and the European institutions, the first victory for the Austrian far right since the end of the Nazi era is yet another wake-up call. In Brussels, surprisingly sanguine EU officials have pointed out that the political centre retains control of the European parliament following last June’s election, and the centre-right president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has just been endorsed for a second term.
Such assurances ring hollow. The discontent generated by the cost of living crisis and economic stagnation are providing parties that should be beyond the pale with a platform and an opportunity. They are using it to achieve unprecedented success with arguments that scapegoat migrants and minorities, present the green transition as an expensive and unnecessary imposition on the less well-off, and disparage core European values as elite virtue signalling. From those charged with defending and promoting those values, the politics of business as usual is no longer adequate to the moment.
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