Alan Cafruny, the Henry Platt Bristol Chair of International Affairs and Professor of Government, was recently a guest commentator for Voice of America. He discussed what he calls “the large and alarming gains of far right parties” in the recent elections for the European Parliament.
He said these parties, most notably in Germany where the neo-fascist Alternatives for Germany party rose to second place, have tapped into anger and resentment based on a number of factors, including years of neoliberal austerity, stagnation, and inflation, compounded by rising energy prices resulting from sanctions on Russia.
Noting that while European citizens generally continue to support Ukraine, he said they are increasingly concerned about military escalation and growing NATO involvement against Russia and favor a negotiated settlement.
“Far right parties are gaining popularity by scapegoating immigrants and calling for increasingly harsh exclusionary measures even as the EU is enacting sweeping new policies to deter refugees, 3,000 of whom perish annually in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas,” Cafruny concluded.
