When Europe's Far Right Was Pan-European

The fear of a federal Europe has eurosceptics riled once again. David Cameron is increasingly dialling up his rhetoric in response to Jean-Claude Juncker’s candidacy for head of the European Commission, with Juncker’s reported advocacy for a “United States of Europe” driving right-wing euroscepticism to a new pitch – unsurprising after a European parliament election that saw a broad surge in anti-EU voting. The eurosceptic advance in the elections led to much comment about the apparent linkage between the “far right” and anti-Europeanism. Many commentators continue to run with the assumption that opposition to the European project is a given for the far right, and that the two are synonymous. This is questionable in the context of today’s politics, but historically it’s downright incorrect. The far right in Europe has often been enthusiastically pan-European.