By Hossein Ziaee*
Europe is rapidly distancing itself from a political, economic and military stability that has prevailed in the continent for more than half a century.
The rise of the far-right in different European parliaments, the new round of military threats fueled by the possible US withdrawal of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the US and Russia, and the recent “yellow vest” movement have all spoken volumes of threats facing the Green Continent.
The yellow-vest movement that began in France in mid-November has now spread to other European countries like the Netherlands and Belgium.
The leaders of the leftist parties in Germany have now thrown their weight behind the yellow-vest movement in France, saying that they are against economic injustice in European countries. A statement that would likely lead to yellow vests finding footholds in Germany, too.
Sahra Wagenknecht, the head of the Left Party faction in the Bundestag, expressed support for the yellow vests. “I think it’s right for people to defend themselves and protest when politics makes their lives worse”, she said.
This comes as the anti-immigration, anti-feminist Vox Party’s unexpected victories sent shockwaves through Spanish politics. Last month the tiny Vox Party became the first far-right group to win seats in Andalucía since Spain’s return to democracy following the death of General Franco in 1975.
In Germany, the growing support for far-right policies and the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) Party has undermined the country’s traditional political powerhouses of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democrats.
The Austrian paper Die Presse said the election of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, seen as Merkel’s successor, as the leader of the ruling CDU Party is a “big gift” for the AfD to further press ahead for its policies.
Winfried Kretschmann, a popular politician and minister president of the state of Baden-Württemberg, believes that democracy in Germany and all over Europe is in a dangerous state.
He added that Europe is facing a serious crisis now because you see far-right movements emerging in various forms everywhere.
*Hossein Ziaee is an Iranian journalist in Germany.
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