HUMAN WRONGS WATCH

Human Wrongs Watch

By Roberto Savio*

Rome, 19 March 2015

The recent German elections went as predicted. A new right wing, xenophobe party, Alternative for Germany, AFD, has emerged with force, and will sit in national Parliament in 2017. This development is unprecedented in German politics since the end of World War II, and it is widely viewed as part of a general trend – the rise of populist and xenophobe forces all over Europe. 

Roberto Savio

The European elections of 2004 rang the first warning bell.

The euro crisis and social instability saw the beginning of a surge to the right.

Since then, every national election has seen a shift in the internal balance.

Historical examples of civics and tolerance in the Nordic countries, such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark, has changed direction. The Swedish Democrats, a party rooted in the neo Nazi movement, has forced the country to change its famous policy of open door to refugees.

The Danish Popular Party last summer emerged as the second choice. In Finland, the True Finns became the third force in 2015, and are now in the governmental coalition.