Is the rise of the far right bringing the end of the European Union?

The world we live in seems to be moving rapidly toward a chaotic state whose momentum increases with each passing day. For many years, zones of chaos and crisis seemed to belong only to the Middle East. The Russia-Ukraine War has made the Western World, which until now had met all its problems outside and chose the Middle East as its battlefield even when it fought among itself, feel once again inside its own house the reality of war that it had been on the verge of forgetting. Among the alliances Russia has sought because of this war, its alliances with China, already perceived as a threat, and now North Korea, have led to a serious perception of threat in the world of power, security and prosperity within the Union that Europe has been building with great care since the Second World War.

There were already serious discontents toward the EU in each of the member states. In every economic crisis, in every problem experienced, the EU process was immediately flagged as the first usual suspect and culprit. The far-right parties never held back from turning every crisis into an opportunity for this purpose. However, this threat did not become a perception shared on this scale across all of Europe. Because, on the other hand, the economic advantages that the Union process offered to the peoples of Europe were felt far more than the negative things blamed on the EU process.

However, the economic crisis that began with the COVID-19 pandemic and continued with the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war began, as might be expected, to generate serious discontent toward those in power. When the protests that developed against governments' pro-Israel attitudes in Israel's genocidal war against the people of Gaza were added on top, a surge in far-right votes in the European Parliament elections was no great surprise.

The first notable thing in the elections held on 6-9 June in the 27 EU member states to determine the new members of the 720 seats of the European Parliament is that turnout remained at 48 percent, that is, it came in 6.5 percent lower than the 54.5 percent turnout recorded in the previous election.

This level of turnout is of course not a figure that could account for the entire rise of the far right, but it can probably be seen as another way of expressing discontent toward the left or center-right parties in power. After all, the votes of those who do not go to the ballot box are also counted and have an effect in this system.

The first response to this rise of the far right, experienced as a great wave across Europe, came from France. The French President dissolved the National Assembly and opened the way for an early general election to be held next month. It seems inevitable that these steps will be followed by steps in other countries too. But it can also be said that, with this decision he took, Sarkozy had in a way the expectation that he might find a chance to renew confidence against the rise of the far right and perhaps reverse this wave. However, such challenges often produce exactly the opposite result, and especially against the wind that the rising right has caught all across Europe, the chance of winning is almost nonexistent.

A second point is that in the drop in the votes of the center-left or center-right parties in power, a reaction against pro-Israel policies can also be readily seen. It is truly interesting that among the far-right voters, who are generally also marked by anti-immigrant sentiment, there is a segment that criticizes its governments over their pro-Israel policies and reacts because of the support given. The parties they vote for are on no bad terms with Israel at all; some even openly support it; yet Palestinian flags can be seen being unfurled at some of their rallies. So there is a complete confusion of minds there too. This situation makes the election results an interesting mixture of critical positions toward all the policies of the European Union and, of course, one of the signs that the votes going to the rising right lack firm resolve.

In fact, after the Russia-Ukraine war there had been an expectation that far-right tendencies would decline. Because it was thought that these parties were linked to Russia and that a reaction against them would form among the European public. In Hungary, France, Sweden, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, where the popular reaction and hostility against Russia is stronger, the election results ended with far-right parties in the lead.

Of course, the question that the rise of the far right on a European scale may first bring to mind constitutes a serious paradox of the EU too. The far right of one country and the far right of its neighboring country are not in solidarity with one another. Indeed, naturally, they even bear grudges against each other. After all, the raison d'être of the far-right movement or discourse is intolerance toward the other. Leaving aside how this situation will affect being anti-immigrant and immigration policies, where it will take the EU has already turned into a mystery.

Of course, it also seems inevitable that the values of multiculturalism, democracy, human rights and the like, which until now have been the support of Europe's strength and all its advantages, will be thoroughly trampled by a populism that will inevitably be resorted to in the course of resisting the far right. Although these values may have been trampled enough already in the Gaza matter and in general relations with Muslims, this time it seems they are being abandoned within Europe itself as well.

Perhaps one possibility is that, once the rising right takes the helm, it will face realities and its excesses will be filed down; Meloni in Italy, who after coming to power moved away from the pro-Russian tendencies she had previously expressed within the EU and, remembering her responsibilities toward NATO, shifted to a pragmatic line, is seen as an example of this, but whom this pragmatism ultimately benefits is another matter.

What is clearly visible is that our world is heading toward a more chaotic state with each passing day, and democratic processes, instead of constituting a solution, make it more impossible to get out of.