Latest news with #post-Nazi
Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Ridhi Dogra never wanted to do films due to 'fake and manufactured' fame there: 'I wasn't ready to go to their parties'
In the early 1950s, Jean-Pierre Pruvot, later known as Bambi, witnessed a transformative moment in queer history as flamboyant performer Coccinelle paraded in Algiers. This spectacle of resistance at Paris' Carrousel de Paris revived queer visibility post-Nazi persecution. Now nearing 90, Bambi reflects on her journey, the risks faced, and the evolution of gender identity and rights.
Middle East Eye
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Furthering the 'Far-Right International': Likud joins the Patriots for Europe
In the 1990s, Europe's post-fascist and post-Nazi political parties were clear in rejecting Israel on the grounds of their antisemitism. Seen largely as an extension of the United States' neocolonialism, these parties mobilised against the US as a leader of the liberal world order. Similarly, Israel rejected the leaders of the far right. Consider Jorg Haider, one of Europe's first successful far-right leaders, who was barred from entering Israel. Much has changed since then. While an untypical far-right leader like Geert Wilders openly embraced Israel from the start, positioning himself as a defender of Jewish life in the Netherlands, it took the traditional far right much longer to become accepted by Israeli policy circles. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Shifting alliances In December 2010, a historic trip took place when the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), Belgium's Vlaams Belang, the German Freedom Party, and the Sweden Democrats travelled to Israel and signed the so-called "Jerusalem Declaration". This declaration affirmed Israel's "right to defend itself" against terror, stating: "We stand at the vanguard in the fight for the western, democratic community" against the "totalitarian threat" of "fundamentalist Islam". Islam, they alleged, was the common enemy of both Europe and Israel. According to this new logic, Jews and Europeans would become victims of a rising fascist Islam - forging a new alliance between Israel and Europe's far right to counter these perceived threats As one German far-right activist said in 2011: "I guarantee you that Kristallnacht [Night of Broken Glass] will return. But this time, Christians and Jews will be driven through the streets, persecuted and killed by Islamists." According to this new logic, Jews and Europeans would become victims of a rising fascist Islam. Hence, a new alliance should be forged between Israel and Europe's far right to counter these perceived threats. At the time, only a few ultra-right members of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, welcomed the far-right delegation to Israel. No official Knesset visit was scheduled. The far-right delegation visited settlements and effectively questioned the Palestinian right to the land, referring to it as Judea and Samaria. Judea and Samaria is the Israeli term for the occupied West Bank. This marked a shift in ideology - from denying Israel's right to exist to denying Palestine's right to exist. A far-right bloc Fifteen years later, the far right has taken further steps to normalise its ties with Israeli forces. How Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism were born together Read More » With several far-right parties having been in power and securing significant electoral support in their countries, they emerged as the third largest political group in the European parliamentary elections of June 2024, forming the Patriots for Europe (PfE). Led by the French National Rally's Jordan Bardella, this bloc includes major political forces such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz, Italian Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini's Lega, Wilders' Party for Freedom, the Austrian FPO and others. Although some far-right parties, such as the Brothers of Italy and the Alternative for Germany (AfD), remain in other conservative political groups, PfE has successfully aligned itself with other conservative and far-right political forces worldwide. The AfD may yet join them. In February 2025, none other than Israel's ruling Likud party, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, joined the PfE as an observer member. Given the far right's focus on anti-immigration policies, primarily targeting Muslims, this alliance comes as little surprise. By welcoming a political party whose chairman is indicted for genocide after a brutal war that left the Gaza Strip in ruins, displaced more than a million people and killed tens of thousands, the PfE sent several messages. Not only does it demonstrate its likely indifference to the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants for Netanyahu, but it also signalled to its electorate that the genocidal actions of the Israeli prime minister are in line with far-right fantasies of a genocidal defensive war to "make Europe white again". A new era Seeing Muslims as the primary threat in its "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, genocide may simply be viewed as the last line of defence - an idea already put into practice by far-right extremists such as Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 people in 2011. Austria's 'fight against Islam': How a Freudian 'slip' exposes its racist legacy Esad Širbegović Read More » Calls from far-right members to "cleanse" Europe of Muslims and commit a "Srebrenica 2.0" are now symbolically reinforced by the backdrop of Israel's war on Gaza, carried out by the leader of a party that now holds observatory status in the PfE. It is the far-right utopia of a Muslim-free continent that the PfE aspires when it mimics the US president's rhetoric by adopting the slogan "Make Europe Great Again". With increasing signs of an illiberal world order emerging under the current US administration, it seems to feel increasingly emboldened. When DOGE manager Elon Musk performs Hitler salutes and complains that there is "too much focus on past guilt" (ie the Holocaust) while addressing members of the far-right AfD, it is no surprise that Orban's blatant antisemitism - key to his electoral success - will be conveniently forgotten. The far right in Europe is entering a new era, bolstered by its counterparts in the US and Israel. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany's far-right AfD sets sights on next election after sharp rise
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is hoping to win the country's next election, co-leader Alice Weidel said on Monday, one day after the party secured a historic second-place finish on the back of an unprecedented showing in eastern Germany. Weidel led the AfD to the best result for a far-right party in Germany's post-Nazi history on Sunday, doubling its share of the vote from 2021 to reach a stunning 20.8%. In comments just hours after final results came in, Weidel said the party's ambition is to become the strongest force in the next Bundestag - the country's lower house of parliament - after the next election, replacing the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU). "We have been able to form a very good platform here, a strategic platform that has the best prerequisites to overtake the CDU within the next few years," said Weidel. The next German election is scheduled for 2029. Weidel and her fellow co-leader Tino Chrupalla have already confirmed they plan to remain as co-chairs of the party's faction in the Bundestag following the successful campaign, which came despite the AfD being under investigation by domestic intelligence services as a suspected right-wing extremist group. As conservative leader Friedrich Merz has ruled out working with the party - a stance known in Germany as the "firewall" - the AfD is set to become the largest opposition group in the Bundestag, offering it more speaking time and an additional platform to communicate its anti-immigrant views. Merz, whose bloc made up of the CDU and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), finished top on 28.5% of the vote, is set to replace outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats (SPD), but he will likely need to work with the SPD to form a viable coalition in parliament. Chrupalla earlier hailed the AfD's performance as "sensational," arguing that the result showed residents of eastern German in particular, where the party topped the polls, no longer accept the firewall. "East Germans have clearly shown that they no longer want a firewall," Chrupalla told local radio station rbb inforadio. Sunday's election showed a clear divide along old Cold War lines in the reunified Germany, with the AfD having won overwhelmingly across the formerly communist German Democratic Republic. In the former East German states of Brandenburg, Thuringia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the party reached between 32.5% and 38.6% of the vote share. Results also showed the AfD doing far better in rural areas and small towns across the country, including in the west, while performing more poorly in big cities such as Berlin. That might account for some of the party's strength in eastern Germany, which is more sparsely populated. The AfD's domestic surge has coincided with its increasing visibility on the international stage, with tech billionaire Elon Musk offering his support on numerous occasions during the election campaign. Congratulations came in from far-right circles across the world following Sunday's results. "The people of Germany voted for change in immense numbers," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote in a post on X, days after he hosted Weidel for a meeting in Budapest. "I want to congratulate Alice Weidel on doubling AfD's share of the votes," he added. Weidel also said she missed a congratulatory call from Musk overnight. "This morning, when I turned on my phone or looked at it, I received missed calls in the night from the United States, including from Elon Musk, who congratulated me personally," Weidel said at a press conference in Berlin. Reaching the symbolic mark of 20% represents a significant breakthrough for the AfD, which was founded in 2013 as a eurosceptic party but shifted its attention toward migration policy following former chancellor Angela Merkel's historic decision to keep Germany's borders open during the 2015 migration crisis. While the party saw a marked dip in the 2021 election, which was dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, the latest result suggests its long-term upward trend is continuing - and the AfD's leaders are happy to play the long game. "You have to have a little courage to be calm. We have that," Chrupalla said on Monday, adding that the AfD would continue to develop and professionalize its programme. "And then we will get another 5 to 6% in the next election," said Chrupalla.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German far right triumphant after emerging as clear winner in east
The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Monday hailed his party's showing in the country's parliamentary election as "sensational," after the AfD came in second behind the conservative bloc with around 20.8% of the vote. While that was the best showing for a far-right party in Germany's post-Nazi history, it conceals a clear divide along old Cold War lines, with the AfD the overwhelming winner across the former communist East Germany. "East Germans have clearly showed that they no longer want a firewall," AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla told local radio station rbb inforadio, referring to an agreement among Germany's mainstream political parties against cooperation with the far right. The AfD would be patient, Chrupalla said in view of the outcome of Sunday's vote, which will likely see his party becoming the biggest opposition faction in parliament, as the conservatives have vowed not to seek a coalition with the AfD. "You have to have a little courage to be calm. We have that," he said adding that the AfD would continue to develop and professionalize its programme. "And then we will get another 5 to 6% in the next election," said Chrupalla. "Those who build firewalls will be fried behind them, Mr Merz will experience that too," Chrupalla told a morning programme on public broadcaster ARD, referring to conservative leader Friedrich Merz, who looks set to replace outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The AfD, which has been classified as a far-right extremist group by domestic intelligence in some eastern German states, achieved 20.8% at national level in Sunday's early elections, behind the conservatives at 28.5%.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hoeness says he would take action if Bayern players promote AfD party
Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness has said that he would take action if any player of the club would promote the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Hoeness told Kicker sports magazine in an interview published on Sunday and coinciding with the general election in the country that he would "talk to him and ask whether he was right in his head." However, the former club president added that he wouldn't "impose" his opinion on the whole club. The anti-immigration AfD is projected to garner around 20% of the vote which would be the best result for a far-right party in Germany's post-Nazi history. Hoeness already made his position last year at the funeral service for club icon Franz Beckenbauer and called for projects that combat racism. He reiterated this stance, saying "I believe it is wise to organize very successful initiatives such as 'Red against Racism'" with red referring to a club colour. "But we are not making the mistake of overburdening the players. They have to act out of their own conviction," he added. Hoeness named Bayern "a wonderful role model for migration and integration. More than 50% of our young people have a migration background." Hoeness said he will follow the election outcome, with first projections to follow immediately after the polls close during the first half of Bayern's Bundesliga match against Eintracht Frankfurt.
