Young and Radical - Why Right-wing Populism Is on the Rise | DW Documentary

Feb 10, 2025 | There has recently been a trend in elections in Europe: young voters are turning to right-wing populist and right-wing extremist parties. Why is this happening?

In the Netherlands researchers say it was 18-34 year olds who helped the right-wing populist Geert Wilders to victory in the parliamentary elections. In Italy too, the Brothers of Italy, a party that is considered post-fascist, is in power. In Germany, there will be an early federal election at the end of February. According to surveys, the AfD, parts of which have been classified as right-wing extremist, has a good chance of significantly increasing its share of the vote. The renowned youth researcher Prof. Klaus Hurrelmann says that the success of such parties is also due to their aggressive advertising towards young voters in the digital sphere. In their report, Alexandra von Nahmen and Finlay Duncan examine the question of what else makes radical parties so attractive to young people that they end up voting for them.


If Italians want a strong country again, if it wants to stem the rise in immigration—legal or illegal—it will need to send its young women back to the home. A country cannot be strong without procreation. Strong countries need lots and lots of babies. In the West in general, far too few babies are being born; in Italy in particular, not enough babies are being born even to stop the Italian total population from shrinking! So Melony… how about giving up your career in politics, go back into the home, and start procreating? As Tesco, the supermarket says about its low prices in its adverts: “every little helps”! – © Mark Alexander

As Rightwing Populism Spreads, Bigotry against the LGBT Community Is Growing

THE GUARDIAN: On a day dedicated to ending prejudice, I feel more uneasy than ever before about the negative rhetoric around LGBT rights

Ispent last week in Cuba, a time which overlapped with what should have been the country’s 12th annual Conga Against Homophobia and Transphobia. The march, however, organised by the government and the brainchild of Mariela Castro – daughter of Raul – was cancelled, owing to “new tensions in the international and regional context”.

This essentially translates into a fear that people taking to the streets at a time of heightened tension in the region might turn into general unrest. But there is also the unmentioned fact that religious communities in Cuba are increasingly pushing back against the otherwise repressive state’s attempts to improve LGBT+ rights. Earlier in the year proposed changes to the constitution to allow same-sex marriages were scrapped after pressure from evangelical churches and sections of the population. A spontaneous civilian-organised march to replace the cancelled conga resulted in multiple arrests.

LGBT+ discrimination still exists the world over – this can be insiduous, quotidian prejudice or extreme hatred. Homosexual sex and relationships are still illegal in 69 countries (including 35 Commonwealth countries), and can be penalised with life imprisonment, while some countries still have the death penalty on their statute books. But LGBT+ individuals had become used to good news stories: be it the ground-breaking vote for same-sex marriage in Ireland or Ana Brnabić becoming Serbia’s first openly gay prime minister).

Now, however, as rightwing populism spreads around the world, there is a noticeable rise in bigotry. The LGBT+ community is feeling besieged once again. » | Hannah Jane Parkinson | Friday, May 17, 2019

Election Is Coming: EU Braces for Political Upheaval in Wake of Trump, Brexit Shocks

American voters' choice for their next leader is widely seen as a protest against the status quo. Predictions are now being made that Europe's establishment needs to watch its back.

There are a few major elections on the way in the EU - with politicians once dismissed as 'fringe', now feeling emboldened by what's happened across the Atlantic.

Polly Boiko reports.

Germany: Top Politicians Warn of Rise of Right-wing Populism at SPD Event

The Social Democratic Party of Germany's three-day congress finished on Saturday in Berlin with several high profile politicians from social democratic parties all across Europe taking part.