Spain was something like the last bastion of the left in the European Union, but it too fell exactly one month ago. In local and regional elections in that country, the ruling left-wing alliance of President Pedro Sánchez was severely punished. He won only 28 percent of the vote, which is a percentage less than before. The Prime Minister then announced new elections for July 23.
The winner in Spain is the conservative People's Party PP with 31 percent of the votes won and its new hope: Isabel Díaz Ajuso from Madrid. In her unusual performances, she makes fun of feminism, gender equality, minority protection, trans rights and climate protection. And the right-wing extremist party Vox, with seven percent of the votes won (by four percent more than before), will probably be included in the government in many municipalities and autonomous regions in the future.
And it is no coincidence that Viktor Orban was among the first to congratulate them. He is delighted that the "right-wing reconquest" is progressing in Spain.
Hungary: Orban as a "role model" for the entire EU
The Hungarian Prime Minister is a role model for those who are moving the European Union to the right. In April of last year, he secured his fourth consecutive mandate, even though the opposition went to the elections unitedly and counted on a change of government.
In 2014, Orban and his right-wing nationalist Fidesz party proclaimed an "illiberal democracy" based on the Russian model. Xenophobic tones have been an integral part of his government's program for years. Orbán justified his refusal to accept refugees by saying that Hungarians "do not want to become a mixed race" and that multicultural Western European countries "are no longer nations".
France: Lepen is more discreet
Immediately after Orbán's election victory a year ago, Marine Le Pen rushed to congratulate Budapest. In the parliamentary elections a year ago, her far-right National Party managed to increase the number of deputies in the parliament from 577 seats to 89. Previously, in 2017, it won only eight seats.
Lepen is tireless, increasingly statesmanlike, and thus continues with her long-term project – to move into the Elysée Palace.
The next step towards that goal would be to win the European elections in 2024, where she won about 24 percent of the vote the last two times. That goal no longer seems unattainable, because for ten years now more and more French people are voting for the extreme right.
Italy: Meloni and Mussolini
Đorđa Meloni did not have to wait that long. Her right-wing extremist and fascist-rooted party "Italian Brothers" appeared almost out of nowhere and after winning 26 percent in the parliamentary elections in September 2022, she became the first woman to head the government of Italy.
Her party's coat of arms features a green, white and red flame. For the Italian right, it is a symbol of the eternal flame on Mussolini's grave.
And in general, this Mussolini - he is "a complex personality that must be seen in context", says Meloni, a woman who started her political career in a neo-fascist youth organization.
Sweden: populists, the second strongest force
Jimmy Akesson, the leader of the right-wing and populist "Sweden Democrats", was first engaged in politics for a long time, only to turn right later. In his younger years, he was considered a moderate politician.
Today, in the style of Donald Trump, he wants to "make Sweden great again". In last year's parliamentary elections, the party founded in 1988 by members of the right-wing extremist scene managed to become the second strongest political force. 20,5 percent of Swedes voted for them.
And for Akesson, Muslims are "the biggest threat to Sweden since World War II."
Finland: "Finns first"
For many years, the most successful populists in Scandinavia have had imitators for a long time - for example in neighboring Finland. There, the "True Finns" won 20 percent of the vote and entered the government, in a coalition with three other parties. They have seven seats in the cabinet, and the leader Rika Pura is the Minister of Finance.
That woman who once voted for the Greens, now wants to put Finland back on the "right path". With the "paradigm shift" on the issue of migrants, the refugee quota should drop to 500.
Slovakia: neo-Nazis in parliament
At the same time, Rika Pura is a real innocent compared to Marjan Kotleb. That leader of the neo-fascist L'SNS is among the most radical neo-Nazis in Slovakia. This is a man who likes to be called the "Führer" by his supporters and who incites an atmosphere against Roma, Jews and homosexuals. He was sentenced in 2022 to a suspended sentence for "promoting an ideology that threatens democracy" and had to give up his mandate in the national parliament.
However, this has not affected his party's success in the past. In the parliamentary elections in 2020, with eight percent of the votes won, she secured 17 mandates. In the special elections on September 30, the neo-Nazi party is counting on even more votes.
Greece: a big shift to the right
Meanwhile, conservative Prime Minister Kirjakos Mitsotakis won the election in Greece this Sunday. But the result could also be described as follows: Greece turns to the right.
Right-wing populist "Elliniki Lisi" (Greek solution), ultra-nationalist and ultra-religious "Niki" (Victory) and "Spartans", as successors of the neo-Nazi party "Golden Dawn", which was banned in 2020 - in total with almost 13 percent of the votes entered the Greek parliament.
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