Dr Nsungbemo Ezung
Wokha Town
The conglomerate of Right-wing political parties in Germany is all set to return to power, as they secured enough numbers to form the next government following the country’s snap general election held on February 23. In a 630-member Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, the conservative coalition of Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) had secured the most number of seats and along with the far-right populist political party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which saw a decisive surge in this election, the Right-wing political combination have comfortably crossed the required numbers to form the most Right-wing government in this major European superpower nation. There could also be a possibility of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) joining the government, a grand CDU/CSU-SDP coalition which is a unique coalition of Right and Left and which had already happened before, for keeping the far-right, extremist political party out of power. The pro-European political forces perhaps would not want a political party like AfD, which had an unexpected endorsement from the US President Donald Trump, to be a part of the government which would be seen as the expanding influence of American conservative politics in Europe.
The ruling Left-leaning Social Democratic Party (SDP), led by the outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz, was soundly defeated finishing third behind CDU/CSU and AfD becoming the latest Left-leaning political party to suffer a decisive defeat at the hand of the European voters. Olaf was forced to call for an early election, seven months before the due date, as the growing unpopularity and discontent with his government became evident.
Friedrich Merz, who is now projected to become the next Chancellor of the country, is seen as a pro-Europe and traditional-oriented politician, who acknowledges Christian ethics as the root of the German nation and is known for his tough stance against the issue of immigration. Once appeared to be sidelined by the leadership of his own party, under the long-serving German strongwoman, Angela Merkel, his latest political triumph is a vindication of his leadership within his party in the post-Angela Merkel era. One of the most crucial aspects of his view on foreign policy is perhaps his pro-Europe posture independent of the influence of the United States, despite calling Ronald Reagan, one of the most conservative Presidents in US history, as one of his role models. Merz’s call for re-assessing the role of the US in European security would mean under his Chancellorship, the world could see a major realignment in the post-war trans-Atlantic alliance i.e. the US-Canada-EU relationship.
The triumph of the Right-leaning and conservative-based political parties in Germany is a part of a larger and continuous surge of the Right-leaning political parties all over Europe. The Right-leaning coalition is now enjoying the most numbers of seats in the European Parliament with Roberta Metsola of Malta, who holds a conservative view on social issues like abortion, as its President. The Left is slowly but surely losing its ground in France. Hungary today is under a strong pro-nationalist government with Victor Orban as its prime minister representing the Fidesz Party (Hungarian Civic Alliance), which is described as another Right-wing conservative political party. Austria and Belgium too are currently under the rule of the same Right-wing conservative political party.
A new darling for the conservatives has also emerged from Italy in the person of Giorgio Meloni, who has been serving as the prime minister of Italy since October 2022. Representing the Brother of Italy (Fdl) Party which is considered a national conservative political party, critics of Giorgio Meloni love to dub her as the leader of the far-right of Europe. Popularly known for her pro-nationalist and conservative worldview, she made no secret in her opposition to abortion, euthanasia and marriage among the same genders. She had once famously declared: “I am a woman, I am a mother, I am Italian, I am Christian”. Amidst the Left version of the world, where the culture of confusion reigns supreme, the world needs a strong and decisive leader like Giorgio Meloni who is assertive and has the courage to proudly and unapologetically declare her gender, nationality and religious identity.
The Left suffering a string of defeats in the political arena across Europe in the last few years could be a symptom of the European nationals feeling the burns of the Left’s appalling social policies, immigration which threaten the whole European demography and the anti-national policies that could not only undermine the independence and sovereignty of Europe but at the same time pose an existential threat to Europe at large.
Europe turning Right could be the best thing that would ever happen to Europe in modern times. One cannot forget that the Post-War (World War 1 and 2) European reconstruction took place by confronting communist and socialist political ideology. Europe had also achieved the ultimate triumph in the Cold War on the plank of fighting communism. The Right political force is not a reactionary to the modern existing political order. Instead, it represents the foundation of the great Western civilization and the modern socio-political order based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
More than three decades after the defeat of communism in Eastern Europe, the same communism is threatening to return to haunt the whole of Europe in the form of the Left’s social and political movement.
The longevity of the Left influence in Europe since the end of the Cold War has undermined the modern liberal democracy that Europe and the West had adopted as its political system in the post-war era. And this liberal democracy, along with the free market economy, not only helped the West to recover from the carnage of the two wars of the 20th century but also went on to prove that the very political system that the West adopted in the post-war era turned out to be the best in the world.
Europe cannot afford to return to the suffering of the Cold War era by embracing the Left. And the best means to ensure this is for Europe to defeat the Left just as it did three decades back when it had triumphed over communism.
