Europe’s far-right surge fuels intolerance and tests democracy

By MNTV Staff Writer

BRUSSELS (MNTV) – The walls are closing in on Europe’s long-held firewall against extremism. From Vienna to Berlin, from the halls of the European Parliament to local councils across the continent, far-right parties are not just knocking at the door—they’re walking through it.

In September 2024, Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) secured a historic victory with 29 percent of the vote, marking the strongest far-right showing in any European election since World War II.

It was a milestone that sent shockwaves through Brussels and beyond. Just weeks later in Germany, the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) became the second-largest party in the Bundestag despite being monitored by security services for suspected extremism.

Additionally, in the May 2025 election, Portugal’s far‑right Chega party became the main opposition, winning 60 out of 230 parliamentary seats.

The numbers tell a stark story. Far-right parties now hold over a quarter of seats in the European Parliament—the most right-leaning legislature in EU history. Four member states (Belgium, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Hungary) have far-right parties in government. According to the European Center for Populism Studies, populist parties in 2024 secured 263 out of 720 seats.

There is a newly formed far-right group in the European Parliament called Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN), which supports the narrative of far-right consolidation.

The traditional cordon sanitaire, a political strategy of isolating extremist parties from power, is crumbling under the weight of electoral reality.

Political scientist Owen Worth notes that the sheer numbers of right-wing populist parties on the political scene means they can no longer be contained, and it remains increasingly difficult to find a country in Europe where a radical right-wing party of some form does not exist.

But the rise of far-right politics is more than a parliamentary headcount. It represents a fundamental shift in European societies, one measured not just in votes but in violence, discrimination, and fear experienced by millions.

Human cost of intolerance

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) paints a disturbing picture in its 2024 annual report. Overall intolerance is “growing across Europe, affecting many groups, including Muslims, people of African descent, Roma, and migrants,” the agency found. Disinformation and online platforms have exacerbated racist and polarized attitudes across the continent.

The statistics are sobering. Nearly half of Muslims surveyed across 13 EU countries reported experiencing racism—a sharp increase from 39 percent in 2016 to 47 percent in 2022. For people of African descent, discrimination jumped from 24 percent in 2016 to 34 percent in 2022.

FRA Director Sirpa Rautio emphasized that polarization across Europe is leading to widespread intolerance, creating divided societies with many groups suffering, while rising poverty and democratic threats further fuel uncertainty and societal tensions.

The report identifies Austria as Europe’s most Islamophobic country, with 71 percent of Muslims reporting discrimination, followed by Germany and Finland. Meanwhile, nearly one in three Muslims experience racial harassment, and half of those stopped by police believe they were victims of racial profiling.

Breaking down barriers

The erosion of democratic norms is perhaps most visible in the breakdown of the cordon sanitaire. This decades-old strategy of mainstream parties refusing to cooperate with far-right movements has been a cornerstone of post-war European democracy. Now, pragmatic politics is replacing principled resistance.

The European People’s Party (EPP), the center-right bloc that dominates EU politics, has repeatedly sided with far-right groups on key votes. In September 2024, the EPP joined forces with Viktor Orbán’s Patriots for Europe and Marine Le Pen’s allies to pass a resolution on Venezuela. The move, though downplayed by EPP leaders, signaled that cooperation with the far right is no longer taboo.

“The EPP’s tendency to team up with the radical right has prompted strong criticism from the other centrist groups,” according to a Carnegie Endowment analysis. This shift undermines trust and threatens an effective legislative process that relies on stable coalitions of centrist parties.

Adrian Favero, assistant professor of European politics at the University of Groningen, frames the dilemma facing European democracies by questioning how long these firewalls can hold if far-right parties gain more ground. Favero suggests that 2025 will likely see higher demands for far-right parties being included in governments or coalitions.

The consequences of abandoning the cordon sanitaire extend beyond parliamentary arithmetic. Research from Sweden found that when mainstream parties ended their isolation of the Sweden Democrats, voters increasingly saw the party as legitimate and less threatening to democracy—a shift that proved difficult to reverse.

Digital amplifier

The far right’s resurgence cannot be understood without examining its mastery of digital platforms. Figures like Elon Musk have reshaped the online landscape to favor far-right narratives, with platforms like X becoming vital tools for right-wing populists. Musk’s recent endorsements of Germany’s AfD and pledges of support for Britain’s Reform U.K. have sparked controversy and raised questions about foreign influence in European politics.

This digital dimension adds a new layer to far-right mobilization. As one political analyst notes, these parties exploit perceived bias in mainstream media by cultivating direct relationships with supporters through social platforms.

The result is a parallel information ecosystem where conspiracy theories, xenophobia, and nationalist rhetoric circulate freely, unfiltered by traditional editorial standards.

Daniel Byman, in Spreading Hate: The Global Rise of White Supremacist Terrorism, underscores how far-right movements exploit mainstream debates and amplify polarization.

He warns that the global white power movement is dynamic, technologically savvy, and adept at transforming societal grievances into political leverage—a reality that echoes Europe’s rising far-right influence.

Economic anxiety and identity politics

While economic distress has often been blamed for far-right success, the picture is more complex. The Freedom Party’s Austrian victory came in a country experiencing economic challenges, but the AfD’s rise in Germany occurred despite low unemployment and robust economic indicators. The Netherlands and Sweden, both with strong economies, have also seen significant far-right gains.

Renaud Foucart, senior economist at Lancaster University, argues that the last five years have seen normalization of the far-right across Europe, allowing parties to exploit a sense of “permacrisis” besetting the continent.

The combination of migration fears, energy crises, inflation, and geopolitical instability has created fertile ground for nationalist politics.

Political historian Ben Wellings suggests that things may be darkest before dawn, noting that if party competition matters, this ought to spur renewal. He observes that anger is sometimes justified, and there might need to be some rethinking of the economy.

Crossroads for European democracy

As Europe navigates this political transformation, the stakes extend far beyond electoral cycles. The FRA report warns that one in five people across the EU now lives in poverty, with children and vulnerable households most at risk.

Meanwhile, over 4,000 people died or went missing attempting to reach Europe by sea in 2023—the highest toll in five years.

The rise of far-right politics is both symptom and cause of Europe’s democratic strain. These parties campaign on platforms promising to address legitimate grievances—economic insecurity, migration management, national identity—but their proposed solutions often target the most vulnerable and erode fundamental rights protections.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged not to collaborate with the far right, yet political calculations increasingly clash with stated principles.

When she delayed a critical rule of law report in 2024, observers saw it as an effort to secure Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s support for her re-election bid.

The fundamental question facing Europe is whether its democratic institutions can withstand this pressure. Can the center hold when a quarter of the parliament represents parties that challenge the European project itself? How long can democracies exclude democratically elected representatives without becoming undemocratic themselves?

As one analyst observed, the far right cannot be contained, but it can be defeated—through genuine engagement with grassroots concerns, protection of fundamental rights, and a recommitment to the inclusive vision that built post-war Europe.

The alternative is a continent where intolerance becomes normalized, where “others” are increasingly excluded, and where the promise of a united, democratic Europe fades into memory.

The walls designed to protect European democracy are crumbling. What replaces them will define the continent for generations to come.