The Rise of the Far Right in Europe

English Language

Cause/Effect Essay

The rise of the far right in Europe

Lately, we have seen a rise of the far right in many European countries. For instance, in Sweden, the far right party entered the government for the first time in 2010. In France, Marine Le Pen gained 18 per cent of the votes during the elections in 2012. In the Netherlands, the far right party has even provoked the collapse of the government in 2012. The far right also rose in other countries such as Italy, Greece, Belgium and Finland. What could have caused this rise of the far right in Europe?

The rise of the far right in Europe seems to result from several causes. First, European countries are suffering from the economic crisis and the measures of austerity. The reaction from citizens is a growing feeling of anger at governments. In addition, there is a social insecurity caused by unemployment, budget cuts, poverty… These circumstances have led to a distrust of governments: traditional parties failed to find a satisfying solution for the crisis. The far right parties use this feeling to accuse governments for their mismanagement of the economic crisis.

Another criticism related to the broken economy is immigration. The far right knows that economy is a sensitive subject and immigration can be a really good scapegoat. We often hear sentences like: “if there is not enough money for the natives, neither is there for the foreigners”, “immigrants are stealing jobs from European citizens”, “immigrants take advantage of social allowances”…These thoughts are increasingly getting into the minds of citizens who are suffering from the economic crisis.

Another convincing argument related to immigration is the people’s fear of losing their identity. Europeans are very attached to their traditions and local values but far right parties claim that immigration is a threat to national identity. The actual target is obviously Arab people. Europeans defend more and more their values, their traditions and their ways of life against the “Islamization” of Europe. Far right parties target other factors threatening the national identity: multiculturalism and globalisation. They want to preserve their own culture rejecting immigrants and other cultures. They also accuse the globalisation to be a cause of the economic crisis.