European Left Parties against the rise of extreme right

Author: Giulia Semeghini


The time in which the speeches of the Nazi and Fascist parties were given publicly or in parliaments is historically far. However, more and more often it is now possible to hear some ideas that have very much in common to the ones declared during that time, even in some parliamentary events.

In fact, as recently shown by the rise of Marine Le Pen and the National Front in France, political parties belonging to the extreme right are experiencing a new period of growth by gaining ground on the fears and problems emerging in Europe from the ongoing refugee crisis and the latest terrorist attacks.

A confirmation of this trend can be found also in the fact that after the European elections in 2014, 9 parties affiliated to extreme right have found a seat in the European Parliament. Among them, there are the Nation Democratic Party (Germany), the Golden Dawn (Greece), the Finns Party (Finland), the Danish People's Party, the Party for Freedom (Netherlands), Jobbik (Hungary), the Freedom Party of Austria, Lega Nord (Italy) and, of course, the National Front (France).

In view of this considerations, on the 8th of December 2015 the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) organized a conference to discuss about possible strategies against the rise of extreme right in Europe. The conference was held at the European Parliament and various politics and representatives of European left parties and other organizations were invited to come up with new ideas and propositions on the topic.
Gabi Zimmer, President of GUE/NGL, started the discussion by underling that nowadays many far-right parties act differently since they have already realized that through a smart use of their small power inside the European Parliament, they can grow and become even more powerful. To face this trend, she put at the heart of the possible solutions a real and effective opposition by all the left parties present in the European political arena.

Similarly, Daniel Riazat, Member of the Left Party of the Swedish Parliament, stressed the importance of creating alliances and reinforcing the union between the various European left parties that, in their turn, they should strengthen their collaboration with the civil organizations on the main current problems, such as the refugees welcome.

An invitation to learn from the past mistakes was made by the Austrian Walter Bayer, spokesperson for “Transform! - European network for alternative thinking and political dialogue”, who identified in the unmaintained promises of the European integration and the consequent economic and social problems the main weak points on which the extreme right have relied to gain its consensus.

In fact, as pointed out by Chiara Adamo, Head of the Unit of Fundamental Rights at the European Commission, the racism and discrimination against ethnic minorities have grown in the last years and they have given rise to a common hate used by the extreme right during elections. A serious issue consists in the fact that this hate is increasingly bringing to crimes and violent acts and for this reason, on the opinion of Mikel Ramos, author of the project “Hate Crimes in the Spanish State, it is now fundamental to create instruments to identify, condemn and judge these acts that up to now have received little consideration by the politics and the media. During his speech, he also stressed the relevance of fighting all the small neo-nazi organizations that are growing in many European countries, such as CasaPound in Italy, and focus the attention on the education and awareness of young people, since they represent the main objective of these organisations.

Racism and discrimination are issues on which is essential to pay attention, as well as on the rise of new forms of fascism. In this regard Weyman Bennet, Joint Secretery of the British anti-fascist pressure group “Unite Against Fascism”, made a general exhortation to try to recognize and define any form of fascism in order to face it in a more effective way. During his speech he also expressed his fear about the phenomenon of Islamophobia that he identifies already as a new form of racism, and he underlined the importance of finding a common strategy between the various left parties to fight all the conceptions that are at the base of the ideology of the extreme right. This call was shared by Marina Albiol, Member of the European Parliament for “Izquierda Plural”, who considered the reinforcement of a common strategy a good way to provide an alternative in the political arena and create a strong anti-fascist alliance.

The conference was then concluded by the words of Lara Manyes, “Intercomarcal” Antifascist Coordinator in Spain, and Giorgos Chondros from SYRIZA (Greece), who focused their speeches on the need to take into account the European historical memory and carry on a common project. As affirmed by almost all the speakers, it is fundamental to take action now, since Europe cannot afford to do the same mistakes of the past, especially the ones done in the 1930s.