AMA: Why is the far right on the rise in Europe? We’re European correspondents for the Guardian. Ask us anything (Join us 14 October at 10am EDT/ 3pm BST/ 4pm CEST)
Hi r/geopolitics, we are Jon Henley, the Guardian’s Europe correspondent, and Ashifa Kassam, European community affairs correspondent.
Support for far-right parties has been growing across Europe, with radical right, populist parties in coalition governments in Croatia, Czechia, Italy and Finland, and leading in the polls in Austria, Belgium, France and Germany.
The Guardian reported this year that nearly a quarter of voters in Europe voted for far-right parties in their most recent national elections, a fivefold increase since 1995.
In Germany, Alternative für Deutschland recently booked a historic state election victory in Saxony-Anhalt. Elsewhere, though - in the Netherlands, in Hungary and in Sweden, where the Sweden Democrats lost vote share - far-right parties have suffered defeats.
But their ideas - and their influence on mainstream politics - are today clearly visible across the continent, notably on policies around immigration and law-and-order.
The coming months will see further crucial elections, beginning in Spain in November and continuing in France, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Slovakia, Poland and Italy next year.
With support for far-right politics now well-established across Europe, how might these elections shape the political future of the continent? What is the impact of their policies - and what might prevent their continuing rise?
We’ll be here on Wednesday 14 October at 10am EDT/ 3pm BST/ 4pm CEST to answer your questions live. Drop your questions below!
PROOF: Hi, this is Jon Henley and Ashifa Kassam, https://i.redd.it/kp61xxdqbfuh1.png
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A little bit about the European correspondents and their work…
Jon Henley has been writing about politics and more in Europe for over 30 years and has reported for the Guardian from 23 of the EU’s 27 member states. After stints in Amsterdam, Brussels and Helsinki, he was for a decade the Guardian’s chief correspondent in Paris, where he is now based as its Europe correspondent.
Ashifa Kassam lives in Madrid and has spent 12 years meeting and reporting on people, communities and movements for the Guardian. Her reporting often focuses on those most impacted by the far-right, including women, migrants and minority communities; most recently she was on the ground in Sweden and Germany's Saxony-Anhalt state to speak with people ahead of the elections.