this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2025
128 points (97.1% liked)

Europe

6880 readers
1512 users here now

News and information from Europe 🇪🇺

(Current banner: La Mancha, Spain. Feel free to post submissions for banner images.)

Rules (2024-08-30)

  1. This is an English-language community. Comments should be in English. Posts can link to non-English news sources when providing a full-text translation in the post description. Automated translations are fine, as long as they don't overly distort the content.
  2. No links to misinformation or commercial advertising. When you post outdated/historic articles, add the year of publication to the post title. Infographics must include a source and a year of creation; if possible, also provide a link to the source.
  3. Be kind to each other, and argue in good faith. Don't post direct insults nor disrespectful and condescending comments. Don't troll nor incite hatred. Don't look for novel argumentation strategies at Wikipedia's List of fallacies.
  4. No bigotry, sexism, racism, antisemitism, islamophobia, dehumanization of minorities, or glorification of National Socialism. We follow German law; don't question the statehood of Israel.
  5. Be the signal, not the noise: Strive to post insightful comments. Add "/s" when you're being sarcastic (and don't use it to break rule no. 3).
  6. If you link to paywalled information, please provide also a link to a freely available archived version. Alternatively, try to find a different source.
  7. Light-hearted content, memes, and posts about your European everyday belong in other communities.
  8. Don't evade bans. If we notice ban evasion, that will result in a permanent ban for all the accounts we can associate with you.
  9. No posts linking to speculative reporting about ongoing events with unclear backgrounds. Please wait at least 12 hours. (E.g., do not post breathless reporting on an ongoing terror attack.)
  10. Always provide context with posts: Don't post uncontextualized images or videos, and don't start discussions without giving some context first.

(This list may get expanded as necessary.)

Posts that link to the following sources will be removed

Unless they're the only sources, please also avoid The Sun, Daily Mail, any "thinktank" type organization, and non-Lemmy social media. Don't link to Twitter directly, instead use xcancel.com. For Reddit, use old:reddit:com

(Lists may get expanded as necessary.)

Ban lengths, etc.

We will use some leeway to decide whether to remove a comment.

If need be, there are also bans: 3 days for lighter offenses, 7 or 14 days for bigger offenses, and permanent bans for people who don't show any willingness to participate productively. If we think the ban reason is obvious, we may not specifically write to you.

If you want to protest a removal or ban, feel free to write privately to the primary mod account @EuroMod@feddit.org

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
federalreverse@feddit.org
poVoq@slrpnk.net
anzo@programming.dev
EuroMod@feddit.org
128
Germany's far-right AfD hits 25% in poll, just behind conservatives | dpa international (dpa-international.com)
submitted 1 day ago by schizoidman@lemmy.zip to c/europe@feddit.org
31 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Ooops@feddit.org 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Which far-right (or far-left, or any other group with any potential to destabilize countries) isn't?

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 41 points 1 day ago (2 children)

In which countries is the far left on the rise? From what I've seen it looks like Western democracies are all threatened by a lurch towards the far right.

[–] Ooops@feddit.org 7 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

Doesn't matter. Just another 5-10% missing for a possible goverment coalition on top of the far right also do their part in preventing stable, working governments.

See (fitting the topic) Germany's new, russophile BSW (fortunately fallen below 5% on the federal level but obstructing constructive government building in several states).

Also there is a lot in most parliamentary systems that requires 2/3 majorities (like appointing new judges for example) which is not a problem in a working democracy when nobody actually disagrees on certain neccessary things but becomes highly problematic once far-right and far-feft, both paid to work against the country, reach 33% together.

Seriously... you might pretend that the talk about far-right and far-left sponsored by Russia is just some both-sides rhetoric but Russia indeed doesn't care as long as it's weakening democratic governments.

PS: Also left parties supporting Russia don't need to be on the rise. On the contrary a left party peddling Kremlin narratives is helping to push politics to the right because sane people now have to chose between voting center (so more right than they actually like to) or supporting Russia... Again: let's take Germany as an example, where the Left showed a lot of growth and then hit a wall. Because their "we 'support' Ukraine but then are against all weapon deliveries and insist that talking to Russia and China is the only solution"-bullshit disqualifies them for most.

[–] Matombo@feddit.org 8 points 8 hours ago

don't confuse far-right witrh right extremist, the afd was far-right 10 years ago, now they go further. The CDU/CSU is now far-right where the AfD was 10 years ago

on the other side we have Die Linke, which has adopted mostly SPD posiitions (what some years ago was called middle left)

Germany is a stellar example for the overton window moving to the right, i would argue that we don't have any left-extremists parties anymore and hardly far-left ones. the only one getting over 5% is decidedly left, but doesn't go further.

[–] randomname@scribe.disroot.org 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Agreed. But we shouldn't rule that out for tbe future imho, as dictatorships like China use both extremist groups -whether they are on the rise or not- to promote its own agenda by sowing division among Western societies.

There has been a good analysis a few months ago about that:

[Right-wing parties like] Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and France’s Rassemblement National (RN) prioritize economic pragmatism and national sovereignty. These parties argue that decoupling from China or imposing economic sanctions harms European economies, advocating instead for stronger economic cooperation with Beijing. They view China as a crucial trading partner and a counterbalance to US influence, frequently criticizing the EU for its alignment with Washington on foreign policy issues.

Far-left parties, on the other hand, approach China from an entirely different ideological framework, rooted in critiques of Western imperialism and neoliberalism. They accuse the EU and the US of hypocrisy, using human rights as a geopolitical tool to undermine China while ignoring their own failures. The far-left views China’s state-led economic model as an alternative to the neoliberal capitalist paradigm, lauding its emphasis on state planning and development. Skeptical of militarized policies, far-left groups also advocate for dialogue and cooperation rather than confrontation. They tend to resist efforts to isolate Beijing, framing such moves as exacerbating global tensions and hindering progress on critical issues like climate change.

[–] bungalowtill@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 hours ago

which far left parties are we talking about again?

[–] ga_so_art@piefed.social 6 points 21 hours ago

I'd like to add some context for people reading this comment.

This analysis by CHOICE was funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a Washington-based private non-profit that has served as a frontline actor of American soft power. NED has been funded by John M. Olin foundation and the Bradley foundation, both conservative organizations. While NED claims its interests lie in the spread of liberal democracy, it has come under fire by several people from both within and outside the US for paternalistic policies and meddling in other countries' affairs. Links to that here below: https://books.google.com/books?id=yLWOAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA311#v=onepage&q=&f=false https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Endowment_for_Democracy#cite_note-61

According to sociologist William Robinson, NED funds during the Reagan years were "ultimately used for five overlapping pseudo-covert activities: leadership training for pro-American elites, promotion of pro-American educational systems and mass media, strengthening the 'institutions of democracy' by funding pro-American organizations in the target state, propaganda, and the development of transnational elite networks."

"those who spearheaded creation of NED have long acknowledged it was part of an effort to move from covert to overt efforts to foster democracy" and cited as evidence a 1991 interview in which then-NED president Allen Weinstein said, "A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA."

Political scientist Lindsey A. O'Rourke writes that the Reagan-era NED played a key role in U.S. efforts "to promote democratic transitions in Chile, Haiti, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, and Suriname," but did so to promote the success of pro-U.S. parties, not just to promote democracy, and did not support communist or socialist opposition parties. The North American Congress on Latin America says that the NED engages in a "a very particular form of low-intensity democracy chained to pro-market economics--in countries from Nicaragua to the Philippines, Ukraine to Haiti, overturning unfriendly 'authoritarian' governments (many of which the United States had previously supported) and replacing them with handpicked pro-market allies.

NED is an instrument of American soft power that is mainly interested in promoting a US led world order that centers "liberal" democracy and pro-business policies. It has a bias, an agenda, and the means to carry them out. Having "democracy" in the name doesn't mean that they are altruistic in nature.

One thing that the analysis posted above does not show is the role of the American CPAC in supporting and rallying the European far right through CPAC Hungary, which has become a hub for parties like Vox and the Dutch Party for Freedom. https://www.cpac.org/post/cpac-will-return-to-hungary-for-third-year-in-2024

The analysis is made to place the blame for a rising European fascist wave on China, while it ignores key factors in the formation of these groups. Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, Pat Buchanan, and Richard Spencer are just some examples of American pundits and politicians that have been active in Europe, creating a ground floor for fascism to rise in the continent.

The US has all sorts of organizations that have been actively helping right wing movements around the globe for decades. From operation Gladio in Italy during the mid-20th century, to active organizations working to shape foreign policy in America's favor today. Hell, even the NRA has been involved in promoting right wing thought around the world. https://apnews.com/article/1c3d04173b6343bd8ffa45a3487c2e28 https://www.americasquarterly.org/fulltextarticle/the-nras-hemispheric-reach/ https://aoav.org.uk/2025/the-national-rifle-associations-international-funding-and-activities-examined/

Why isn't this shown in the "analysis"? because that's not an analysis at all. It's a puff piece designed place the finger on China, while whitewashing American influence abroad. This is not good journalism, and it certainly should not be a trusted source of information.

[–] ViatorOmnium@piefed.social 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Some are financed by US and South American oligarchs.

[–] Hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Which ones?

[–] ViatorOmnium@piefed.social 1 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

One example is Chega in Portugal, another is PiS in Poland. Others are double dipping like Fidezs.

[–] Hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 13 hours ago

Are there some sources for this?