The AfD party at a recent canvass. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Over the past decade, far-right politics have become increasingly difficult to dismiss as a fringe phenomenon in Europe. From electoral breakthroughs in Germany and France, to anti-immigration protests here in Ireland, the rise of the ‘far right’ has appeared to be stratospheric. But what exactly does ‘far right’, mean and does its growing influence pose genuine threats to democracy across Europe?

What is the far right?

Political scientist Cas Mudde provides a useful framework for the characteristics which design the ‘far-right’ movement. Mudde defines the ‘far-right’ as a combination of four broad concepts: exclusivism, anti-democratic, traditionalist, and corporatist (in support of free-market economics and anti-government intervention). Within these concepts exists authoritarianism, nativism, and elitism. Simply, Mudde defines the ‘far-right’ as political outlook whereby exclusionary nationalism and opposition to liberal democratic principles is central.

A Europe moving right

The rise of far-right parties in Europe has become one of the most consequential political developments of the twenty first century. The success of this political movement within Europe – and worldwide – has been driven by a myriad of social, economic, and political issues. The late Tony Benn, former British Labour Party MP, summarised how societal despair fuels the far-right ideology. “If you have mass unemployment and poverty, people get frightened, and when they get frightened, they look for strongmen to save them- and this is how the far-right wins.” The far-right both incite these feelings of fear and then place themselves in the position of the ‘strongman’ who can free the common person from the woes of their lives.

Since the financial crisis in 2008, widening global inequality has left many working-class and middle-class voters feeling abandoned by mainstream centrist parties. In addition to this, major refugee influxes such as the 2015 European migrant crisis have ignited narratives that blame foreigners for pressure on housing, jobs, and public services. This has provided fertile ground for modern political leaders to, as Alistair Campbell describes it, use the ‘Three Ps’ to achieve public support and electoral success.

What are the “Three Ps?”

Campbell sees these three Ps as the curse of our time (used by politicians from all sides of the political spectrum).

Populism: appealing to ‘ordinary’ people’s grievances and emotion by pitting them against a perceived corrupt ‘establishment.

Polarisation: involves politicians dividing society into a rigid ‘us vs. them’ framework, as opposed to seeking cross-party understanding or compromise.

Post Truths: the disregarding of objective facts and evidence in favour of appeals to emotion and personal belief- straight out of the playbook of Donald Trump. These three Ps are employed by several right-wing populist groups in Europe, including: National Rally in France, the AfD party in Germany, Reform UK in Britain, Brothers of Italy, and many more.

Electoral success for the far-right

The most recent success for a far-right movement in Europe came on 6 September 2026 during the Saxony-Anhalt state election in Germany. Voter turnout was at an all-time high of 77.8%, with the Alternative for Deutschland party (the AfD) doubling its support from 2021 and winning 43.8% of the vote. Out of the 41 constituencies, the AfD won 38, falling just short of an outright majority. The results mark a historic political breakthrough, for no far-right party has controlled a German state since World War II. Governing at state level would mean powers over policing, local education, and culture.

Beyond Germany, the far right is gaining considerable political momentum. In Britain, Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, has surged in the polls since 2024, when Farage became the leader of the party. In the 2025 UK local elections, 677 Reform councillors were elected and in the recent 2026 local elections, Reform won 1,453 seats. As of now, the party only has eight elected Members of Parliament (five elected during the 2024 General Election and three who defected from the Conservative Party), but a poll carried out by the Financial Times in August 2026 reported support at around 25%- a projected 163 seats.

In Hungary, Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party has gone further, governing most recently from 2010 to 2026. France’s National Rally, Austria’s Freedom Party and in The Netherlands, Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom have all built substantial support among the electorate. Furthermore, in Italy, Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, founded in 2012, has governed since 2022.

What connects all these parties in Europe is their growing political importance of immigration, national identity, sovereignty, and distrust of established political elites. The picture for these parties, however, is not uniform. There is no clear definition of the ‘far- right’. The label encompasses movements with significantly different ideologies, policies and relationships with democracy. Therefore, many would argue that the aforementioned ‘far right’ parties are not ‘far right’ at all. This makes it important to examine these parties individually as opposed to viewing them as single political movement.

Ireland: The exception?

Ireland remains one of the exceptions in Europe regarding electoral success for the far right. This is despite growing anti-immigration sentiment which has seen various protests being held in our streets. Yet, as of September 2026, no explicitly far right party holds a seat in the Dail. Most recently, the far-right Irish Freedom Party lost its registered party status and is no longer recognised as a political party in Ireland.

Whilst Ireland may have avoided the political shifts that have occurred in Europe up to now, the far-right is still a movement that our nation must contend with. Pressure is mounting in areas such as immigration, housing, and healthcare- issues that fuel the growth of the far-right movement. The rise of the far-right is not a phenomenon that can be ignored, making it pivotal for the electorate to stay informed and choose carefully when casting their vote on the ballot sheet.

In the words of Christopher Hitchens, “Fascism does not need jackboots and rallies to exist; It can creep in through slow erosion- of truth, of scepticism, of independent thought.”