Ana Beatriz Gomes | The far right is here to stay

There is a progressive illusion that conservative waves are temporary, as if it were a natural cycle in society. For this reason, every time these waves appear, there is no reflection to understand why they appeared.

It was precisely in this lack of reflection from the progressive camp that the new extreme right-wingers found gaps in society and a path to dialogue with a population that had lost faith in state institutions.

The new extreme right is not part of a common conservative wave, but of a very well-organized political group internationally, whose objective is to refound the State, abandon the pillars that support the modern State and replace them with an anti-egalitarian perspective. . In this “new” world, there is no equality, no human rights, but an unlimited pseudo-freedom in which the needs of each individual are the only thing that matters. The new extreme right does not admit the existence of the other.

Last weekend, this extreme right showed all its strength in the European Parliament election, which turned into a huge illuminated sign that screams “Careful” to the world.

This election showed a very strong growth of the international extreme right. We witnessed a wave in which European populations, especially in France and Germany, opted for extremes in a clear demonstration of dissatisfaction. But a dissatisfaction that has no name, a dissatisfaction based on hatred and resentment for a State that did not fulfill what it promised: protection.

We are not dealing with a dispute of ideological roots in which rational discussions are used, but one of resentment. And the far right has understood that civil society is resentful of the modern state and is using the frustration of ordinary citizens as a ladder to reach power.

Contrary to what many progressives believe, this is not a passing wave. They are here to stay, they are organized to stay and they have already managed to co-opt 2 important social groups: the working class and young Europeans, mainly in 2 important countries that can define the paths of Europe: France and Germany.

MACRON MANEUVER TO BRAKE THE EXTREME RIGHT

France was the country that felt the most about the European Parliament’s electoral process. Le Pen’s political group obtained twice as many votes as Macron’s group, showing their growing power and bringing a real possibility that Le Pen will win the next French elections, leading the country to be governed by the extreme right.

There was already a worrying prospect of a possible victory for Marine Le Pen in the French election. But now there is a real possibility and Macron is using the last, almost desperate strategy to enable the unification of the progressive camp and defeat the extreme right: he dissolved Parliament and called new elections for the National Assembly, which has the power to nominate the Prime Minister.

To achieve this victory, he will need the French left, which has Jean-Luc Mélenchon as a great leader with the strength to control this chaos. If the extreme right wins, France will have an extreme right-wing prime minister and a liberal president, a situation that could lead the country to a government shutdown.

The French far-right movement is not new. In the last election, in 2022, a union between the entire progressive camp was necessary to prevent Le Pen’s victory.

It has increasingly co-opted working-class individuals who are having difficulty making ends meet. For the French extreme right, there is only one person responsible: the immigrant. Having someone responsible, an enemy, it is not necessary to present a real solution to the problem, but just say “we need to get them out of here”.

The French extreme right shows that the idea of ​​an egalitarian society is responsible for the French economic collapse and, as a result, the State no longer functions. A perverse irony of history, in which the country that brought us the ideals of the modern State may be one of those responsible for burying it.