More than half of the European Union’s 27 member states are now governed, supported or politically influenced by right-wing parties and factions, according to a new assessment of the bloc’s shifting political landscape.
The trend stretches from Italy in the south to Finland in the north, with parties campaigning on tougher immigration policies and greater national control playing an increasingly prominent role in government.
The change does not mean that every country has elected a hard-right administration. In several member states, nationalist parties are coalition partners, provide parliamentary support to minority governments or have pressured mainstream parties to adopt tougher positions on migration and national sovereignty.
Research by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs has identified far-right parties serving as junior coalition partners in Finland, Italy, Croatia and Slovakia, while Sweden’s Sweden Democrats have supported the country’s minority government.
That influence has also been reflected in the European Parliament, where nationalist and populist groupings have gained ground and helped move political debate towards immigration, border controls and opposition to deeper integration.
The shift marks a substantial change from the post-war era, when parties associated with the political extremes were largely excluded from power. Today, their ideas have moved from the fringes into national governments and the mainstream political debate across much of the EU.
Traditional centre-right parties have often responded by hardening their own positions on asylum and border security, further broadening the influence of the right even where nationalist parties are not formally in power.
