Within a week of the election of Peter Magyar, an anti-immigration, pro-nationalism candidate in Hungary, the European Union (EU) has taken its second electoral hammering. This is in the sense that, contrary to the EU’s expectation in Hungary, the candidate it vehemently supported turned out to be one that really intends to uphold many policies that the EU wants to dismantle. A little over a week ago, Bulgaria stunned the EU again as it has voted for an equally staunch anti-immigration, anti-Ukraine war and anti-EU centralisation candidate, Rumen Radev. With Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party winning Bulgaria’s eighth general election in five years, securing an absolute parliamentary majority, a strong statement was being made.
Radev’s victory undoubtedly signifies that, country by country, one by one, Europe and the EU are moving strongly against increasing non-EU immigration and against ever increasing EU regulatory control. France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and non-EU Britain are all looking like electing similar right wing, nationalist and anti EU control parties anytime soon. In fact, the tide seems to be turning, especially in the aftermath of the far right Nationalist victory in Denmark snap elections! This is happening at about the time Hungary and Bulgaria are passing strong, unmistakable messages to the EU through popular votes.
The political landscape of Northern Europe has been fundamentally reshaped following a snap parliamentary election in Denmark that saw a nationalist, pro-remigration party emerge as the undisputed winner. A clear message to the establishment that the public’s patience with mass immigration and forced multiculturalism is finally coming to an end was sent as Danish People’s Party (DPP), led by veteran anti-multiculturalism campaigner Morten Messerschmidt, more than tripled its vote share, forcing the resignation of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. It has also established “remigration” as a mainstream political reality in one of the world’s most stable democracies.
It is pertinent to ask if this is marking a turning point for remigration efforts across Europe and whether it foreshadows even more trouble for leftist regimes worldwide. Expressing misgivings on possibility of external interference, one commentator wrote that “the corrupt EU will overturn the democratic right of the Danish people as they are a dictatorship and only believe in their kind of democracy.” What is branded as far-right politics have pushed further into the mainstream across much of Europe during the past one year. It has been surmised that, even in opposition, populist parties are shaping national debates on migration and the economy.
Just as they are growing numerically, their influence is shifting policy agendas and public discourse in several countries. The trend reflects growing voter frustration over living costs, borders and political trust. Very early into 2026, the first quarter has shown that the right wing is expected to garner fresh electoral gains. Their popularity and population are growing. In Italy, right wing Fratelli d’Italia has 31 percent share of the votes. In France, the National Rally (RN) has a commanding lead with over a third of the votes at 34 percent. The National Rally (or Rassemblement National in French), known as the National Front from 1972 until it was rebranded under Marine Le Pen in 2018, is a French far-right political party, described as right-wing populist and nationalist. The party is known for its positions on immigration, national identity and security. At 29 percent votes, Marine Le Pen nearly won during her first encounter with Emmanuel Macron, in which Macron narrowly won to become the president. But Le Pen is still determined and has expressed her optimism of winning anytime soon. In the non-EU UK, Reform UK is well positioned and is at an advantage to win there.
Germany’s new right, the main right-wing/far-right political party in Germany, is the Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland or AfD). Founded in 2013, it is a populist, nationalist party that focuses on anti-immigration, anti-Islam, and Eurosceptic policies, although it has been classified as a “right-wing extremist” group by German intelligence. AfD has strong support and voter following of 26 percent, neck and neck with the governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and rising. It has been predicted that AfD has good chances of winning majority votes in state elections in September, which means it would be represented at Bundesrat, Germany’s House of Parliament, where only state governments are represented.
The contention and motivation of the right wing political leaders revolve around shared values deemed beneficial to the people. Support for far-right parties in Europe continued to grow in 2024 and 2025. The EU parliamentary elections last June revealed growing support for far-right parties in several member states. Across the EU, right wing parties are experiencing a significant surge, with support increasing in 22 of 27 member states, now holding over a quarter of the seats in the European Parliament. These parties, ranging from Italy’s Fratelli d’Italia to France’s RN and Germany’s AfD, are influencing power balances, moving from the fringes to mainstream politics, and impacting issues like migration and environmental policy.
The demand side or the people or the insecurities that drive people to vote for particular parties are multiple and extend way beyond culture. Analysts say the trend was driven by concerns over immigration, inflation and the war in Ukraine. Those currently in pivotal positions in the EU power corridor tend to lean to the left of the ideological spectrum, ignoring the independence of individual countries. Now, many Europeans are growing impatient and disgruntled on the direction the current EU leaders are taking the continent. Charles Asher Small of “Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) recently gave a damning speech at the EU Parliament.
“It’s time to sit up, pay attention, and correct our course before we look back and ask ourselves “How did we let this happen again?” He predicted that “Europe is going to be ripped apart because of the presence of the Muslim brotherhood, the abandonment of democratic principles and of human rights…” It is problematic: crisis of ideological cognitive dissonance. “We have a problem. We’ve been warning the European society and North America and to no avail. It’s deep in the hearts of European cities and their culture and institutions. And you have a significant problem. We have graduates in Europe and North America, coming out of the best universities, supporting and praising, and walking in the streets, supporting Hamas. Hamas is not only genocidal, it has anti-Semitism headquarters in Qatar…They believe in the subjugation of women, the murdering of gay people and the destruction of democracy. And yet, our political leaders, our university leaders, our religious leaders take money and do the dance with the Qataris.
“And, is there any wonder, when we do this?” Charles Asher queried. “And they are now moving into the second generation as people coming out of the university supporting Hamas, supporting sophisticated second generation supporters of Hamas …are now the Mayor of New York City, once the great Jewish City, …. And now Jews in New York, Jews in America are now asking the question: where do we go? Should we stay or should we go?” Inherent in this worry is the concern about demographics and population deterioration. The impact of ideologies also forms the basis for marriage and family, loss of parenting ideals, replacement births going down, abortion, LGBTQ, preponderance of immigrants and their children. Islamists are aware of these and are preparing for a takeover by overwhelming the population.
While the new European Spring could be said to be underway, with the growing zeal and energy of those championing it, and with the purpose of achieving a turnaround in their system, there are reasons to be worried that, try as they may, the right wing-inspired reforms may be short-lived, their impacts may not be far-reaching enough and may soon pale into what could at best be described as inconsequential. Issues of demographics have come under consideration here.
Take the issue of population. The replacement birth rate in today’s European Union is less than 2.0 per woman. This is far lower than those of many immigrants averaging five to six births per woman. This is particularly so with immigrants from Islamic culture. With the population of Europe steadily diminishing and those of the immigrants increasing — mostly under 20 years now — the population balance in about 2050 (24 years from now) is predictable. Then, a typical European country will have about five Muslim adults for every one European adult. The European population would have been overwhelmed by the immigrant population. This will affect the culture, education, work, social life, health and economy. It will also affect politics and governance as are presently being observed in many cities in the US, UK and France where, rather than blending with the wider communities, Muslim immigrants create their own enclaves, complete with their own laws and parallel administrations. This is unconscionable and is a key cause of friction and social unrest. These examples further tear countries and people apart.
With natives in the minority and islamist immigrants and their offspring in the majority, power would have been unwittingly handed over to them. Power to vote and be voted for in local elections, national and global forums would make them strong, entrenched and decisive. This may further open new frontiers and doors to more immigrants into Europe. An endless vicious cycle of a chaotic Europe may be what lies ahead. It is better imagined now than experienced.
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Dr. Olukayode Oyeleye, Business a.m.’s Editorial Advisor, who graduated in veterinary medicine from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, before establishing himself in science and public policy journalism and communication, also has a postgraduate diploma in public administration, and is a former special adviser to two former Nigerian ministers of agriculture. He specialises in development and policy issues in the areas of food, trade and competition, security, governance, environment and innovation, politics and emerging economies.
