Members of the political establishment have only themselves to blame for the so-called “far-right surge” in this past weekend’s European Parliamentary elections. The surge was entirely due to the continent’s political leadership embracing unfettered immigration.
For the past year, polling and election results have shown an unmistakable pattern: The specter of uncontrolled immigration is prompting voters to turn away from center-right and center-left parties that have dominated politics in Europe for decades and look for alternatives.
It all came to a head on Sunday when conservative political parties calling for tougher immigration policies saw a large increase in voter support all over the European Union. The most telling results were in France, where the National Rally party, led by Marine Le Pen, far outpaced incumbent President Emmanuel Macron’s party and won the most seats in the European Parliament.
The outcome prompted Macron to call a snap election for the French Parliament, which could result in the National Rally party winning a Parliamentary majority for the first time in its history while positioning Le Pen for another presidential run in 2027.
But the surge in support for anti-immigration parties was not contained to France. In Italy, the Brothers of Italy party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, gained seats, as did the Dutch Party for Freedom. In Germany, even the controversial Alternative for Germany party gained seats.
The driver of dissatisfaction with the ruling parties is simple: The people of most nations do not want unfettered immigration, and they do not appreciate being called bigots and xenophobes for raising legitimate concerns about who is admitted into their country. Yet that is exactly what the ruling parties of Europe have done.
And it is not just a European phenomenon.
In 2016, former President Donald Trump won the presidency because he leaned into his promise to crack down on immigration, and he very well may win the presidency again because President Joe Biden has made lax immigration enforcement a major policy of his administration. Biden has only recently changed his tune somewhat as the electoral liabilities of his policy have become abundantly clear.
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Whether the recent electoral results will have any influence on the immigration policies of the ruling center-right parties of Europe is an open question, but voters are sending a clear message of dissatisfaction and anger with the status quo.
As long as unfettered immigration policies remain in place, the so-called “far-right” and its message of national identity and sovereignty will continue to resonate and grow in force on both sides of the Atlantic and the establishment’s politicians and parties, whether they rule from Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Edmonton, or Washington, D.C., will have only themselves to blame.