A poll released on Tuesday shows the far-right party Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) in first place among German voters. This poll is part of a trend of growing support for populist right-wing parties across Europe, with support growing in France, the UK, Romania, and many others joining Germany in this trend. While many of these parties contain objectionable elements, the fact is that they are addressing an issue their political rivals are neglecting: immigration. What is happening across Europe is a natural response to parties on both the right and left refusing to engage in a dialogue on immigration. If they want to survive, moderates are going to have to make a real effort to address the concerns of the voters.
In the past ten years, almost 30 million immigrants have moved to Europe. With its vast welfare systems and stagnating economies, Europe can’t handle this volume of migration. The problem goes beyond the numbers, as many came from places lacking democratic values, such as religious liberty, freedom of speech, and respect for women and other minorities.
Europe’s insistence on multiculturalism means that these many millions of people failed to assimilate into European society. This has led to parallel cultures showing up in many places. One example of this has been the grooming gang scandal in Britain. In a massive cover-up, prosecutors and politicians buried the investigation into hundreds of child rapes at the hands of Pakistani migrants. This level of apathy from the government has led to people seeking out alternative outlets to address the problems. Third parties like Reform, in addition to activists like Tommy Robinson, are some of the places people are turning to to bring attention to this issue.
Many Europeans are quite angry about this mass influx of people and have been for quite some time. Despite this anger, traditional political parties have either failed to address immigration concerns or done so halfheartedly. When moderates on both sides of the political aisle refuse to allow conversation on a topic, eventually the voter will be forced to turn to unconventional options.
In the UK, this dynamic has led to the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party. One of the drivers of the Brexit campaign was a desire for Britain to have control over its borders. While the Tories delivered on getting Britain out of the EU, they failed miserably in solving the immigration problem. This failure to deliver on promises to curb mass migration has led to Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party taking control. Despite tough talk from Starmer about getting tough on mass migration, the people keep coming. Along with the tepid response to the grooming gang scandal, it is no wonder that Reform is now polling ahead of the two parties that dominated British politics for the past century or so.
Across the channel, France is also grappling with concerns over mass migration. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is currently polling in first place. Dogged by the Nazi ties of its founders, RN has moved away from its controversial past and is surging in popularity thanks to its strong stance against mass migration. While concern over RN’s past is warranted, opposing parties are giving it an electoral pathway by not addressing voters’ concerns about immigration. Not only that, but French President Emmanuel Macron needled RN by not including it in his coalition government, leaving RN’s supporters feeling shut out of the process by someone supposedly on their side of the political spectrum.
Germany’s AfD is probably the most controversial of the right-wing parties leading in the polls. Whereas National Rally is trying to distance itself from its controversial founding, it has a controversial present. While there are some good members of AfD, neo-Nazi elements plague its ranks. For moral and electoral reasons, AfD would be wise to purge these despicable people from their ranks.
Immigration is not Europe’s only problem. With a stagnant economy and plummeting birth rate, Europe faces an uncertain future. As it struggles with those issues, it cannot hope to assimilate massive amounts of people, even if it wanted them to assimilate. Europe has a culture problem that rejects history and tradition. So long as that is true, Europeans will continue to suffer because a country that does not believe in its past will not fight for its future.
Immigration is a major issue in Europe, but right now, only right and far-right parties are talking about it. If Europeans want to keep extremists out of power, parties from right to left need to take immigration problems seriously. To make Europe great again, moderates need to reopen the Overton Window. If parties in the middle give a voice to concerns about immigration, people will not feel like they have to support far-right parties. Time will tell if the moderates in Europe will take notice.
Matt Cookson is an alumnus of the Young Voices Contributor Program and was a Middle East History and Policy Fellow with Young Voices. He also works in the supply chain for a U.S. Defense Contractor. His commentary has appeared in the Mises Institute, Real Clear Politics, the National Interest, Providence Magazine, China Source, and the Idaho Freedom Foundation. You can follow him on X @MattCookson95 and Substack @thewaythecookiecrumbles.
