Five months ahead of European parliamentary elections, the far right’s long march into mainstream politics has hit the buffers in Germany. More than 1 million people have taken to the streets to protest against the AfD party — with some even calling for it to be banned — as reported policy ideas including mass deportations and a Brexit-style referendum give voters pause. Die maske faellt: “The mask drops.”

France, where I live, offers a bleaker suggestion of the staying power of the likes of AfD, however. Here, Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) is expected to come top in June’s European Union elections, 40 years after her father’s party began scoring above 10%, and 40 months before the next presidential election — which she may well win (term limits will prevent Emmanuel Macron from taking part). There’s little talk here of a ban or democratic cordon sanitaire against the far right, besides shutting down blatantly neo-Nazi groups. A poll last year suggested that for the first time, most people don’t see Le Pen as a danger to democracy. It’s hard to imagine 1 million people protesting against her at this point — and it would in any case be a fraction of the 13.6 million frustrated or apathetic voters who stayed home in the 2022 presidential runoff. “The firewall is gone,” as one Parisian financier tells me.

QOSHE - Ban the Far Right? Better to Unmask Its Failings - Lionel Laurent
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Ban the Far Right? Better to Unmask Its Failings

3 5
26.01.2024

Five months ahead of European parliamentary elections, the far right’s long march into mainstream politics has hit the buffers in Germany. More than 1 million people have taken to the streets to protest against the AfD party — with some even calling for it to be banned — as reported policy ideas including mass deportations and a ........

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