One of the phenomena of this century is the successful emergence of political parties on the European political scene. extreme right. One of the peculiarities of this new radical and populist right is the protagonism increasing number of people who have acquired women. Throughout this first quarter of a century, they have led far-right parties. Of them, five are still at the head of their formations: the Italian Giorgia Melonithe French Marine Le Penthe German Alice Weidelthe Finnish Riikka Purra and the norwegian Sylvi Lishaus. Nationalists and conservatives, they deny the feminism and fight with xenophobic overtones immigration. Part of its ideology is to defend the Christian roots of Europe and the values of the traditional family. That’s at least on paper. Meloni is a single mother, Le Pen is twice divorced and lives with a childhood friend and Weisdel is a lesbian.
The Italian prime minister is the most powerful of them all. 48 years old and mother of a daughter, she defines herself as “woman, mother and Christina.” In 2022 she became the first woman to hold the position of chief executive in the history of the transalpine country. Meloni moves like a fish in water among the male leaders of the rest of the world. daughter of a communist who abandoned his family, as a young man he was active in a party neo-fascist that . “Everything he (Mussolini) did he did for Italy,” he said then. Your party, Brothers of Italymaintains the motto “God, country, family”, the same one that the dictator popularized in the 1920s. In a country where government crises are recurrent, Meloni’s is one of the most durable and stable in recent Italian history. He has been leading the Executive for more than three years.
For her part, Marine Le Pen, 57 years old and mother of three, took charge of the then French far-right formation in 2011. National Front (FN). He picked up his father’s baton, Jean Marie Le Penfounder of the FN, whom he removed from the party for his anti-Jewish comments. This was one of the first measures he took in the process of political formation which, from then on, was called National Group (RN, by its French acronym). Its logo stopped being an incendiary flame and became a blue rose. The objective was to show a moderate party clean of all aggressive masculinity.
Since then, RN has not stopped growing in votes, although Le Pen has not yet managed to reach the top of power. His electoral success has been overshadowed by four years in prison and five years of disqualification from public office for embezzlement of European funds. The trial is currently under appeal. The final ruling will be known this summer and may veto his candidacy for the 2027 presidential elections.
Xenophobia and discourses of fear
Alice Weidel’s is, without a doubt, . She is the top leader of Alternative for Germany (AfD)a party that is not easy to govern due to the different factions that make it up. His romantic partner is a woman born in Sri Lanka, with whom he has two adopted children. Her sexual orientation has allowed her to give the party a tolerant and more open air, although Weidel, 37, uses her identity as a lesbian woman to radicalize her speech. anti-immigrationespecially against Islam. She presents herself as the protector of the collective LGTBI+ against the “Muslim gangs” and the “homophobia of Islamic culture.” The ultra leader considers irregular immigrants “the source of all evil.”
Weidel’s speech is also shared by his ultra colleagues. “There is no place for Islam in Europe,” Meloni repeats. “No to the voices Islamists “Now to mass immigration and yes to security at the borders.” For Le Pen, immigrants are to blame for the majority of sexual violations and of the lack of security of French women. He assures that women’s rights will regress due to the “normalization” of the islam in Europe. She presents herself as the “protective mother of France.”
Xenophobia y speeches of fear that have been taking hold and that are, in part, the cause of the success of their formations and also of those of the party True Finnsled by , currently finance minister and deputy prime minister of the coalition government in Helsinki, and , headed by Sylvi Lishausleader of the opposition in Norway.
Outside the continent, the extreme right advances with firm steps in Australia and also from the hand of a woman, top leader of the party One Nation. The latest polls give his political party up to 20% support. The group could also include the anti-immigration ultraconservative, the new prime minister, Sanae Takarchi. The last time a woman led the Land of the Rising Sun was in 1771, when Empress Go-Sakuramachi occupied the imperial throne.
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