Attitudes to democracy and the rule of law will define the distinctions in politics
French far-right Rassemblement National party leader Marine Le Pen meets local residents during a campaign visit at a market in Henin-Beamont. Photograph: Denis Charlet/AFP via Getty Images)One can see the logic. The Rassemblement National, the far-right party, is well ahead in the polls for fast-approaching legislative elections in France. Meanwhile the traditional right is in meltdown.
But if a party pushes policies that liberals regard as unpleasant, reactionary or even racist but does that within the framework of democratic politics and the rule of law, the term “far right” may no longer be appropriate. Ideologies and political movements evolve.
Trump and his ilk have also pushed the Overton window on attitudes to Russia and Ukraine. Here the line between a new form of conservatism and far-right authoritarianism becomes more blurry. It is possible that the likes of Trump and Le Pen want to strike a deal with Russia because they are cold-blooded isolationists who do not believe support for Ukraine is in the national interest. But their flirtation with Vladimir Putin could also reflect admiration for his authoritarianism.
Le Pen’s entire strategy over the past decade has been to “de-demonise” the far right and to move it into the centre. To that end, she has even expelled her own father from the party and, more recently, broken with Germany’s far-right party, the Alternative for Germany.
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