Nicholas Farrell Nicholas Farrell

The march of Europe’s right-wing women

Alice Weidel, Marine Le Pen and Giorgia Meloni (Composite via Getty Images) 
issue 01 July 2023

The British Conservative party may be hopelessly behind in the polls, yet all over Europe the right is surging ahead. Everywhere you look, the left is losing – in Italy, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Hungary and now, following an election victory for the New Democracy party on Sunday, Greece.

In France, the Rassemblement National (the renamed Front National) keeps rising in the polls and now vies for top slot as the country’s most popular party, as does the Freedom party in Austria. And in Germany this week, the radical and increasingly popular right-wing Alternative für Deutschland won a district election for the first time. The AfD is Germany’s second most popular party according to polls, behind the Christian Democrats but ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats.

Already blessed with a large majority, Giorgia Meloni will benefit further from the death of Silvio Berlusconi

Cue the usual agonised and simplistic commentary about the march of the far right.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in