Is Europe Leaning More Right-Wing?

The European Union is notorious for free travel and its controversial migration policies - even though this may be partially true, it isn’t representative of the entire EU. The area of free travel is called the Schengen Area, but many countries in the Schengen area aren't satisfied with the free travel and migration policies. These people are represented by right-wing parties in Europe - a good example of one of these parties is Giorgia Meloni’s “Brothers of Italy” party, which is currently reshaping the EU. Other right-wing parties, such as the “National Rally” in France led by Marine Le Pen, and the “Alternative für Deutschland” in Germany, are also rising. 

At first glance, this does seem to mean that Europe is moving towards the right. However, the right is losing ground in other countries such as Türkiye and the United Kingdom. The Labour Party in the UK is 20 points higher in the polls than the Tories - (the predominant right-wing party in the UK) - though, after the local elections, this gap seems to be exaggerated and it will probably not be a Labour landslide like in 1997. The ruling party in Türkiye - the AKP -  is also in bad condition after they lost the local elections to the CHP - a left-wing party in the nation.

However, after the poor performances of the left-wing and centrist parties in the European elections, it does seem like the right will make ground. In Germany, the prospect of the AfD winning the elections is unrealistic even though they will make significant gains. In places like France, Sweden and Italy, it does seem as if the right will win most of the elections there. So what is another reason? Well, these parties haven’t been popular in the past because of their policies to leave the EU and, as time goes on, these parties are becoming less Eurosceptic and instead are trying to reform the European Union from within.

At the European Parliament in Brussels, the European People's Party (a right-wing populist party) is the largest in the Parliament and is trying to change the EU. However, they do not have a majority so cannot easily get policies through the house. So, in summary, even though the rights’ gains are exaggerated, I do expect to see the right become more influential across Europe.