Latest news with #anti-German
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Far-right parties surge across Europe
AI- Generated Image Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), has classified the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as "confirmed right-wing extremist. " Germany's other political parties want mostly nothing to do with it. Some politicians have even called for it to be banned. What does the situation look like in the rest of Europe? The Netherlands: Partij voor de Vrijheid Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) recently caused the four-party coalition that it led to collapse because it had not cracked down hard enough on migration in its view. "I proposed a plan to close the borders for asylum seekers, to send them away, to shut asylum shelters. I demanded coalition partners sign up to that, which they didn't," Wilders told reporters. "I signed up for the strictest asylum policies, not for the demise of the Netherlands. " New elections are now planned for autumn. Although his party became the strongest force in the parliamentary elections, Wilders did not become head of government because he was deemed too radical by his coalition partners. Instead, independent politician Dick Schoof was nominated prime minister of the Netherlands. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm If it were up to Wilders alone, he would ban all new mosques and the Quran. He is also a vocal critic of green strategies to tackle climate change, and he views the European Union as being too overbearing. Wilders is in complete control of his party, of which he is the sole registered member; even deputies and ministers are officially only supporters of the PVV. This allows Wilders to decide on the party program alone and appoint all election candidates himself. Poland: Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc The Law and Justice party (PiS) was defeated in the parliamentary elections at the end of 2023; Donald Tusk, the liberal former European Council president, has governed Poland as prime minister since then. But the PiS holds the presidency, and can use a veto to put the brakes on government policy. This has not changed since the presidential election at the end of May 2025, which was narrowly won by PiS-backed Karol Nawrocki, who ran an anti-European, and anti-German, campaign. Generally, however, as a party the PiS is rather cautious in Brussels, since it knows that the funds from the EU are important for Poland. It has also positioned itself on Ukraine's side in the war with Russia and advocates a strong Nato presence against its powerful neighbour. In terms of migration policy, however, the party shares the same hardline views of its European allies. On social issues, it is close to the Catholic Church in Poland and opposes the legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage and adoption. Hungary: Fidesz Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Alliance is probably the most successful far-right party in Europe. Thanks to its leader Viktor Orban, the party was in power in Hungary between 1998 and 2002 and continuously again since 2010. Founded in 1988, shortly before the collapse of communism, as a radical liberal force, the party remained on this course for a long time. But Orban and his party has swung to the right since at least 2015, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel proclaimed a "welcome culture" for refugees. Fidesz is now explicitly in favour of illiberal democracy, seeing the "Christian West" as threatened by foreign infiltration and wanting to strongly limit the influence of the EU. In stark contrast to the Polish PiS, the party has sought contact with Russia, despite the war in Ukraine, particularly on energy issues. Orban is also close to Russian President Vladimir Putin on an ideological level. However, unlike similar parties, the party does recognize human-made climate change as a threat. Slovakia : Smer — slovenska socialna demokracia Smer was founded by current Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. Called Direction-Slovak Social Democracy, the party direction is clearly to the right and the social democracy it advocates has little to do with Germany's style of social democracy. Smer has warned that Slovakia is becoming too "foreign." Fico has said that Muslims are not able to integrate and in 2016 he said that Islam had no place in Slovakia. He has described the Ukrainians that Russia has attacked as "Nazis and fascists" and before the 2023 parliamentary elections, in which Smer emerged victorious, he announced that he would put an immediate stop to arms deliveries to Ukraine. He went on to do this, claiming that Nato and the United States were responsible for Russia's attack on Ukraine. This triggered protests across Slovakia. Fico's government has repeatedly criticized the EU's sanctions against Russia as being "meaningless and counterproductive." Spain: Vox Vox (Latin for voice), whose leader is Santiago Abascal, has risen fast since the party was founded in 2013. In the 2016 parliamentary elections, it won only 0.2% of the votes. This went up to 15% in 2019. Since then, its success has slumped somewhat. The party is nonetheless the third strongest political force in Spain at the moment. However, it has never participated in a federal government. The conservative Partido Popular (Popular Party) might have been willing to form a coalition with it, but instead it was the socialist Pedro Sanchez who formed a government. Vox's main concern is specific to Spain: The party believes that the self-government rights of autonomous communities such as Catalonia or the Basque Country should be revoked and that Spain should once again become a centralized state. There is also a particular Spanish flavour to the party's anti-immigration and anti-Islamic tones: Abascal has called for a new Reconquista. The first, which ended in 1492, was a series of campaigns waged by Christian rulers against Muslim kingdoms that had ruled the Iberian Peninsula for centuries. At the beginning of February, Vox hosted a major event called "Make Europe Great Again" in the Spanish capital Madrid. Participants included Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and French far-right politician Marine Le Pen. Denmark: Dansk Folkeparti The Danish People's Party was founded in 1995 and had its most successful period in the 2000s and 2010s. With its anti-immigration, anti-globalization and anti-EU positions, combined with demands for a strong welfare state, it provided support for several centre-right governments in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Notably, it was able to push through a tightening of the asylum system. But support for the party dwindled after 2019 as Denmark's Social Democrats, led by Mette Frederiksen, not only adopted its anti-asylum demands but also pushed them through. The People's Party only received 2.6% of the vote in the last parliamentary election in 2022. The immigration and asylum policy of Denmark's current Social Democratic government is one of the toughest in Europe.
DW
13-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
Far-right parties surge across Europe – DW – 06/12/2025
While the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party continues to be isolated in the German political scene, similar populist parties are gaining momentum in other EU countries. Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), has classified the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as "confirmed right-wing extremist." Germany's other political parties want mostly nothing to do with it. Some politicians have even called for it to be banned. What does the situation look like in the rest of Europe? The Netherlands: Partij voor de Vrijheid Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) recently caused the four-party coalition that it led to collapse because it had not cracked down hard enough on migration in its view. "I proposed a plan to close the borders for asylum seekers, to send them away, to shut asylum shelters. I demanded coalition partners sign up to that, which they didn't," Wilders told reporters. "I signed up for the strictest asylum policies, not for the demise of the Netherlands." New elections are now planned for autumn. Although his party became the strongest force in the parliamentary elections, Wilders did not become head of government because he was deemed too radical by his coalition partners. Instead, independent politician Dick Schoof was nominated prime minister of the Netherlands. If it were up to Wilders alone, he would ban all new mosques and the Quran. He is also a vocal critic of green strategies to tackle climate change, and he views the European Union as being too overbearing. Geert Wilders is the only registered member of his PVV party Image: Piroschka Van De Wouw/REUTERS Wilders is in complete control of his party, of which he is the sole registered member; even deputies and ministers are officially only supporters of the PVV. This allows Wilders to decide on the party program alone and appoint all election candidates himself. Poland: Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc The Law and Justice party (PiS) was defeated in the parliamentary elections at the end of 2023; Donald Tusk, the liberal former European Council president, has governed Poland as prime minister since then. But the PiS holds the presidency, and can use a veto to put the brakes on government policy. This has not changed since the presidential election at the end of May 2025, which was narrowly won by PiS-backed Karol Nawrocki, who ran an anti-European, and anti-German, campaign. Generally, however, as a party the PiS is rather cautious in Brussels, since it knows that the funds from the EU are important for Poland. It has also positioned itself on Ukraine's side in the war with Russia and advocates a strong NATO presence against its powerful neighbor. In terms of migration policy, however, the party shares the same hardline views of its European allies. On social issues, it is close to the Catholic Church in Poland and opposes the legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage and adoption. Karol Nawrocki narrowly won the second round of the presidential elections in Poland Image: Jakub Porzycki/Anadolu/picture alliance Hungary: Fidesz Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Alliance is probably the most successful far-right party in Europe. Thanks to its leader Viktor Orban, the party was in power in Hungary between 1998 and 2002 and continuously again since 2010. Founded in 1988, shortly before the collapse of communism, as a radical liberal force, the party remained on this course for a long time. But Orban and his party has swung to the right since at least 2015, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel proclaimed a "welcome culture" for refugees. Fidesz is now explicitly in favor of illiberal democracy, seeing the "Christian West" as threatened by foreign infiltration and wanting to strongly limit the influence of the EU. In stark contrast to the Polish PiS, the party has sought contact with Russia, despite the war in Ukraine, particularly on energy issues. Orban is also close to Russian President Vladimir Putin on an ideological level. However, unlike similar parties, the party does recognize human-made climate change as a threat. Slovakia: Smer — slovenska socialna demokracia Smer was founded by current Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. Called Direction-Slovak Social Democracy, the party direction is clearly to the right and the social democracy it advocates has little to do with Germany's style of social democracy. Smer has warned that Slovakia is becoming too "foreign." Fico has said that Muslims are not able to integrate and in 2016 he said that Islam had no place in Slovakia. He has described the Ukrainians that Russia has attacked as "Nazis and fascists" and before the 2023 parliamentary elections, in which Smer emerged victorious, he announced that he would put an immediate stop to arms deliveries to Ukraine. He went on to do this, claiming that NATO and the United States were responsible for Russia's attack on Ukraine. This triggered protests across Slovakia. Fico's government has repeatedly criticized the EU's sanctions against Russia as being "meaningless and counterproductive." Spain: Vox Vox (Latin for voice), whose leader is Santiago Abascal, has risen fast since the party was founded in 2013. In the 2016 parliamentary elections, it won only 0.2% of the votes. This went up to 15% in 2019. Since then, its success has slumped somewhat. The party is nonetheless the third strongest political force in Spain at the moment. However, it has never participated in a federal government. The conservative Partido Popular (Popular Party) might have been willing to form a coalition with it, but instead it was the socialist Pedro Sanchez who formed a government. Vox's main concern is specific to Spain: The party believes that the self-government rights of autonomous communities such as Catalonia or the Basque Country should be revoked and that Spain should once again become a centralized state. There is also a particular Spanish flavor to the party's anti-immigration and anti-Islamic tones: Abascal has called for a new Reconquista. The first, which ended in 1492, was a series of campaigns waged by Christian rulers against Muslim kingdoms that had ruled the Iberian Peninsula for centuries. There have been EU-wide demonstrations against Orban's anti-LGBTQ+ stance Image: Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix/IMAGO At the beginning of February, Vox hosted a major event called "Make Europe Great Again" in the Spanish capital Madrid. Participants included Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and French far-right politician Marine Le Pen. Denmark: Dansk Folkeparti The Danish People's Party was founded in 1995 and had its most successful period in the 2000s and 2010s. With its anti-immigration, anti-globalization and anti-EU positions, combined with demands for a strong welfare state, it provided support for several center-right governments in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Notably, it was able to push through a tightening of the asylum system. But support for the party dwindled after 2019 as Denmark's Social Democrats, led by Mette Frederiksen, not only adopted its anti-asylum demands but also pushed them through. The People's Party only received 2.6% of the vote in the last parliamentary election in 2022. The immigration and asylum policy of Denmark's current Social Democratic government is one of the toughest in Europe. This article was translated from German.
New Statesman
12-06-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
Donald Tusk's self-own
Photo by NurPhoto/Getty It's no surprise that the marginal win on 2 June of Poland's President-elect, Karol Nawrocki, has rattled politics internationally considering his anti-EU stance – and his victory couldn't have been more of a blow to Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk. Sensing the country's politics have once again become destabilised, Tusk called for a vote of confidence on Monday (11 June) in an attempt to bolster his party and strengthen their political power. 'I needed this vote for obvious reasons,' Tusk said after the votes have been cast. 'There have been speculations that this government won't be able to support itself and it's difficult to work in these conditions.' Yet the vote did little to prove his critics wrong. Marginal wins have recently become depressingly commonplace in Polish politics: in the first round of the presidential election, Rafał Trzaskowski narrowly won before Nawrocki secured the office with a 0.9 per cent advantage in the second round. Now Tusk has garnered the support of just 53 per cent of the Polish parliament, the Sejm. Rather than proving that Polish MPs have trust in his leadership, the vote of confidence has further demonstrated that Poland is divided. One member of the opposition said that what Tusk called on himself was in fact a 'vote of no confidence'. Only seven members of the Sejm abstained from voting, including Jarosław Kaczynski, the leader of the right-wing Law and Justice party, whose relations with Tusk have been tense since his first term as prime minister in 2007. So, what did the vote of confidence achieve? Simply put: nothing. The question period that proceeded the vote was less of a Q&A than an opportunity for Tusk's opponents to air their grievances in front of one another. Addressing the 'usually not present' prime minister – a phrase that many members of the opposition wielded to highlight Tusk's frequent lack of attendance in the Sejm – the usual repertoire of issues was broached ranging from education, public spending, the national healthcare system and the prime minister's systematic failures in their regard. As the question period dragged on, the condemnations disguised as questions became more audacious. A Law and Justice MP, Łukasz Kmita, called Tusk's leadership pathological and only possible thanks to his 'kiss-asses'. This sentiment was shared by fellow Law and Justice MP Zbigniew Bogucki who called Tusk's premiership 'pato-władza' – pathological governance. Another MP addressed Tusk as 'Herr Tusk' and proceeded to speak to him 'in a language he will understand' – German. The anti-German sentiment of the opposition was impossible to ignore, especially aimed at the prime minister. For years Tusk has been the subject of conspiracy theories that paint him as a 'German spy' due to his pro-EU sentiments, allyship with Germany – a position some view as selling Poland out – and his German heritage on his mother's side. So, yes, Donald Tusk won his vote, but he didn't exactly bolster confidence. In the past, the vote of confidence has been a tool wielded in difficult and important political moments – something Tusk has experience with having called on it in 2012 and 2014. This is one of those significant political moments, yet the tactic failed. Rather than proving unity, the vote drew a firm divisive line. With an upcoming parliamentary reshuffle in July and the presidency of Nawrocki starting in August, the country is entering a summer of political disturbance. According to United Surveys, 44.8 per cent of the Polish public think that Tusk should resign – a sentiment clearly shared with many members of the Sejm. The political divide in the country and in the Polish parliament will lead to further disillusionment and political fatigue. Nawrocki's presidency will not only add to the domestic political unrest but will also have an inevitable ripple effect on politics and policy beyond Poland's borders. [See also: The world is finally turning against the war on Gaza] Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Related
The Hindu
08-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
From The Hindu, June 9, 1925: Theft of German colonies
Munich, June 8: The annual meeting of the German Colonial Society has passed a resolution strongly protesting against the theft of Germany's colonies and demanding the Government to ask for their return and requesting the Reich-Commercial Treaty unless the anti-German regulations still enforced in British colonies are cancelled.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Germany and Poland plan closer cooperation despite recent election
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski plan to advance cooperation between their two countries despite the victory of eurosceptic Karol Nawrocki in the Polish presidential election. "I assume that we will continue to work together very closely and amicably," Wadephul said on Wednesday during a meeting with Sikorski in Berlin. "Our ties are so strong that democratic elections here or there do not call them into question in any way." The cooperation also applies to France within the Weimar Triangle, for example in coordinating support for Ukraine, Wadephul said. The trilateral group, established in 1991, includes France, Germany and Poland, and is designed to promote cooperation among the three. Nawrocki, who was backed by the conservative nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS), had campaigned with anti-German and anti-European rhetoric. But Wadephul said the German-Polish partnership is so close and solid that he has no doubts that joint future and defence projects could be realized. Poland, he said, had held democratic elections. Germans and Poles are friends, "and we want to continue that," the German foreign minister added. Sikorski: Government controls foreign policy Sikorski described it as a sign of democracy that a representative of the opposition had won the presidential election in Poland. Similar to Germany, the president in Poland is not the head of government but a representative of the country abroad. He implements the policies set by the government. While the Polish president has more powers than the German president, including a veto right, "foreign policy is the responsibility of the government," Sikorski said. Wadephul: Defence and infrastructure are key topics Wadephul highlighted European air defence as a security guarantee for citizens and the advancement of European defence cooperation as key areas for expanding collaboration. This, he said, requires "concrete projects, industrial partnerships and political will that does not stop at national borders." A resilient Europe, he added, also requires efficient infrastructure. Roads, railways and bridges are "not just transport routes but lifelines for our security, including between Germany and Poland." At the same time, these investments would tangibly improve the daily lives of people in Poland, Germany and across Europe, he said.
