08 June 2025, 12:02

Opinion: Nationalism, right-wing parties are on a roll in Europe

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MINSK, 8 June (BelTA) – Nationalist sentiments are on the rise in Europe and right-wing parties are gaining popularity, Russian public figure, historian, and political scientist Boris Yakemenko said in a new episode of the V Teme [On Point] project on BelTA’s YouTube channel.

“The political map of Europe will be redrawn because the weak are always replaced by the strong. Hence, the rise in nationalism. We see that right-wing parties are celebrating big wins in European elections. So bans are introduced to hold them back, like it was with the Alternative for Germany,” Boris Yakemenko said.

The political scientist named the main reason why nationalist sentiments are sweeping across Europe: “Religion, democracy, and the market were taken away from people. And what they were left with? Blood! Money on the one hand, and blood on the other. People are starting to recall that they are Germans, Austrians, French, and so on. This is natural, because this is the only thing that they are left with.”

The expert believes that a rise in nationalism is a blowback from all those actions of European politicians. “They have let migrants in and the locals are beginning to feel like they are a minority in their own countries, a minority that is being squeezed out by outsiders. Therefore, the situation is extremely tense. I think that following Brexit, some kind of Frexit is also possible, when France asks to leave the European Union. And I do not know how much longer this structure called the European Union, which was created in opposition to the United States, will last,” concluded Boris Yakemenko.