insufficient constitution, was politically weak and met with contemptuous feelings from the onset, by both politician and citizen alike. Consequently, the German people were overcome with despair and frustration and looked for salvation. This provided the ideal opportunity for the fledgling National Socialist Workers Party (NSDAP) to garner support by transforming despair and skepticism into adulation for an ideology of racial superiority.
In recent years, the same form of reactionary politics has made a resurgence into the European political scene at an alarming rate, quickly gaining traction across the continent.
The year 2015 has proved to be a tumultuous one for the European Union. There have been national elections in several States, waves of migrants threatening the ever so fragile social equilibrium, and the looming threat of further economic stagnation. The European states must contend with these quandaries; ambivalence will no longer suffice. In light of this, the right wing in Europe has enjoyed a surge in popularity, as reflected by their recent victories. Originally dismissed as a short-lived fad, the forces that have been galvanized under a call to purify Europe are here to stay, and their numbers are swelling.
On Oct. 11, Austria held elections in which the ultra-conservative Austria Freedom Party finished second, earning 30.4 percent of the vote. This is the largest share given to a right-wing party since the end of the Second World War. From that point until this year, Austria, especially Vienna, has been largely under control of the Socialist party, earning the appellation “Red Vienna.” However, it is not an absurd claim to make, that in the near future Austria may once again be in the hands of the right.
To the dismay of some, Austria isn’t an anomaly; this wave of right-wing enthusiasm shows no indication of reaching its plateau in the foreseeable future. On Oct.1, the xenophobic German Party, Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA), took to the streets of Dresden in droves, amassing a crowd of 20,000, displaying nationalist German sentiment, and calling for the purification of Western society. In Poland’s last election, the conservative Law and Justice party won the election with 37.6 percent of the vote. This is first time in 26 years that a coalition government will not have to be formed, as they have enough representation in the bicameral government. Farther to the west, France’s far-right party, National Front, is set to win regional elections across the country in December. Its current leader, Marine Le Pen, will run in 2017 on a platform predicated upon Islamophobia and underscored by Euroscepticism. These calls are echoed all across the continent, whether in Germany, France, The Netherlands, or in Scandinavia.
Almost all of the far right parties share an animosity towards the migration crisis and are frustrated with the inefficiency of the seat of European Governance in Brussels. Perhaps – as an unintentional byproduct of their goodwill and generosity – the governments of the EU made a significant blunder by permitting the influx of migrants to reach alarming levels. In the past few months, Germany implemented border controls and halted the unbridled flow of migrants into the country. This decision came as a surprise to many, as the country that was once unconditionally welcoming chose to control its borders in ways not seen since the Second World War. Similarly, in an act of defiance to Brussels, on Sept. 14, the Netherlands, Austria, and Slovakia followed suit. Hungary imposed strict border controls and prevented migrants from entering their country as well, earning the adulation of their people and the scorn of the authorities in Brussels.
On the surface, these actions have allowed governments to reintroduce order, or the semblance thereof, to their borders and temporality quell any lingering fears. However, this is a direct threat to Europe’s Schengen Agreement, which provides for passport-free travel. If Europe were to regress and break the hard-fought fraternal b