Matthijs Rooduijn is a teacher and researcher at the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), specializing in European populism. From northern to southern Europe, the extreme right is gaining ground: it has made a strong entry into the National Assembly in France, largely determines the government program in Sweden and is leading the governing coalition in Italy.

What do Europe’s far-right parties have in common?

We must first agree on the qualifications that will be given to these formations. The associated names “post-fascist” or “neo-Nazi” are not satisfactory.

Even if the roots of some of these political movements go back to Fascism or Nazism – which is important to emphasize – they differ from the parties of the 1930s and obscure what lies at the heart of their programme, their ideology and their vision of the world , today.

These formations are based on common pillars: nativism, authoritarianism and populism. Nativism, an exclusionary form of nationalism, distinguishes between Citizens who would be integrated into the nation and others who would remain outside. According to the parties, this second group of “outsiders” includes different categories of people: members of a different religion, members of a minority or another ethnic group, immigrants… This attitude can therefore be expressed in different ways: anti-Semitism, racism, Islamophobia… But for all these parties, this nativism is the main element of their ideology, around which their beliefs are articulated.

“Kaleidoscope”, poster glued to canvas (4 mx 6.5 m). This monumental fresco against racist and anti-Semitic stereotypes and to encourage dialogue between students from different backgrounds was created by Côte-d’Or middle school students under the direction of French street artist Combo (or Combo Culture Kidnapper). It was exhibited at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris in June 2021. COMBO

Second, they share a form of authoritarianism, with the idea that society should be more closely controlled and violators of the law should be severely punished, especially when committed by outsiders. Their populism is based on the belief that the “good people” are being betrayed and neglected by a “demonic elite” – primarily politically, but also economically and culturally.

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The strength of her message lies in her ability to combine nationalism and populism: the nation against the “others” and the people against the elites. Added to this is the belief by some that the elites plan to bring migrants into their country. This combination has fueled the success of the extreme right over the past thirty years.

Finally, in these movements we find the proponents of conspiracy theories, such as the recent one about the climate or Covid-19.

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Giorgia Meloni chooses Brussels for her “first” foreign country. A clear and unequivocal political message to try to close the divisions of the past years. A signal to Europe and to all diplomats who are looking at the new Italian government with some concern, an attempt to undermine the perplexity that accompanies the new PM, not so much for the profile of the Fdi leader (who is moving from now clearly in the wake of pro-Atlanticism for years) as far as the Allies are concerned. It is no coincidence that just 48 hours ago the Kiev government sharply argued with the league and pointed the finger at the faction leader in the Senate, Massimiliano Romeo. At the confidence speeches at Palazzo Madama last Wednesday, the President of the Senators of the Northern League went so far as to say that at the peace talks it is “hard to hear that the Ukrainians will decide”, although it would be better to argue that ” the international community decides in the interest of Ukraine”. Sortie that Volodymyr Zelensky did not like at all.

Meloni therefore decides to start from Brussels. Where on Thursday – thanks to the good offices of Europe Minister Raffaele Fitto, who has been based in Europe for years – he will meet Roberta Metsola, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel in turn. The first to the EU Parliament, the second to the EU Commission, the third to the EU Council. Quite a demanding tour, which should start around four o’clock in the afternoon and end after dinner. What, coming from Brussels, could be accompanied by Michel. On the other hand, it is unlikely that we will find a window with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The two have already heard and found each other in harmony, but their respective agendas would not be compatible. The EU Commission, where the Italian FDI delegation is obviously alarmed, also filters out that there is technically no time for a press conference. Instead, we are considering joint statements – no questions asked – after the meeting with von der Leyen.

In short, for Meloni it will be an opportunity to gain a foothold on the European stage. Strong also in his role as President of the Party of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). In 2020, before becoming the first woman to head Palazzo Chigi, Meloni was also the first Italian to head a European party. And it’s clear that this position – and the relationships she has built over the years – will be of great help in her baptism of fire in Europe. An occasion where Meloni will confirm Fdi’s doubts about the PNRR, which have been known for some time. Anticipated by Fitto in May, when the then co-president of the ECR group in the European Parliament, responding to Mario Draghi’s intervention in the Strasbourg plenary, hoped for a resumption of the PNRR because “priorities have changed with the war”. Meloni used similar words in his programmatic statements in Parliament. Concepts that he will repeat in his Thursday sessions. Convinced that the NRP now needs a “voucher” because “commodity prices have risen” and “contracts and tenders have not been renegotiated”. In short, there is a fear that the next calls – those concerning projects that have not yet started – could go empty handed because the reconstruction plan “was written before the war in Ukraine” and today “conditions have changed”.

Yesterday, Meloni also heard German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. In the first, the interview lasted about fifteen minutes, and the prime minister pointed to doubts about Germany’s position on the energy front (see price cap). With the second, Meloni instead reiterated his support for Kyiv (which he should visit once the necessary security conditions are in place).

In the background, however, the written congratulations – there was no telephone contact – arrived from Vladimir Putin. With Moscow, which didn’t like the fact that Palazzo Chigi chose not to publicly communicate the wishes of the Kremlin’s number one. So Russian Ambassador to Italy Sergei Razov reflected on this before dinner to announce that Putin “congratulated” Meloni on “his new post.” Compliments that don’t seem particularly felt.

Kyiv (Kyiv)/Moscow. Russia is suspending its participation in the UN-Turkey brokered agreement with Ukraine on grain exports by ship. The Russian agency Tass reported on Saturday with reference to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. Alleged attacks on ships in the Black Sea were cited as justification.

According to Russian sources, Ukrainian forces used drones to attack Black Sea Fleet ships in Sevastopol, Crimea, on Saturday. They say they were supported by Great Britain. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that the agreement would be suspended because the security of the corridor created for the transport of grain could no longer be guaranteed.

In a first reaction, the Ukrainian government accused Russia of extortion. Russia is inventing attacks on its own facilities.

London denies allegations of Nord Stream explosions

The Russian ministry previously accused Britain of involvement in the attacks on the Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol on Saturday and the Nord Stream explosions in late September. This was indignantly rejected by London.

“To distract from its disastrous handling of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry resorts to spreading false allegations of epic proportions,” the UK Defense Ministry said on Twitter. “This made-up story says more about disputes within the Russian government than it does about the West. The British Navy does not have the capacity to blow up the pipelines,” former Royal Navy Admiral Chris Parry told Sky News.

Ukraine has repeatedly said it wants to recapture Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014. The peninsular city of Sevastopol is important to Moscow as a base for the Black Sea Fleet. The peninsula is also repeatedly rocked by explosions, for which Russia blames Ukraine. Kyiv is mostly silent about this. On October 8, for example, the Kerch bridge between Russia and Crimea, important for providing supplies to Russian invasion troops in Ukraine, was severely damaged by an explosion.

Issued on: 10/29/2022 – 11:42 am Modified: 10/29/2022 – 15:29

The head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps warned protesters that Saturday would be their last day to take to the streets in a sign that security forces could step up their crackdown on unrest in the country.

Protests have swept Iran since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in vice custody last month, posing one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution.

“Don’t come out into the street! Today is the last day of the riots,” said the commander of the guards, Hossein Salami, in some of the harshest language used in the crisis, which the Iranian clerical leadership blames on its foreign enemies, including Israel and the United States.

“This sinister plan is a plan hatched in the White House and in the Zionist regime,” Salami said.

Iranians have defied such warnings throughout the popular revolt, in which women have played a prominent role. There were more reports of fresh bloodshed on Saturday.

Human rights group Hengaw reported that security forces shot dead students at a girls’ school in the town of Saqez. Another post said security forces opened fire on students at the Kurdistan University of Medical Science in the Kurdish provincial capital, Sanandaj.

Several students were injured, including one shot in the head, Hengaw said.

Portal could not verify this report.

The widely feared Revolutionary Guards, which reports directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have not been deployed since the demonstrations began last month. They are an elite force with a track record of crushing dissent.

At least 250 protesters have been killed and thousands arrested in protests across Iran, according to human rights groups.

On Friday, video footage shared on social media showed protesters demanding the deaths of Khamenei and the Basij militia, which has played a key role in efforts to quell demonstrations.

The Ministry of Intelligence and Revolutionary Guards Intelligence have accused spy agencies from the United States, Britain, Israel and Saudi Arabia of orchestrating the unrest to destabilize the Islamic Republic.

Salami, speaking at a funeral for victims killed in an attack alleged by Islamic State this week, repeated that message in a direct address to protesters.

“Don’t sell your honor to America and don’t slap the security forces who defend you in the face,” he said.

The United States will turn the United Nations spotlight on the protests in Iran next week and seek ways to encourage credible, independent investigations into Iran’s human rights abuses.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Friday urged the Iranian authorities to deal with the “legitimate grievances of the population, including in relation to women’s rights” and said the security forces must counter “any unnecessary or disproportionate use of force”. avoid peaceful protesters.

(Portal)