Euroviews. After the ballots: How authoritarians edge closer to Brussels

Radical, far-right and anti-establishment parties have gained significant ground this year across large parts of the EU. The recent victory for the Freedom Party (FPÖ) in Austria’s national elections, the regional breakthroughs for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), and the strong showing of nationalist parties in June’s European parliamentary elections all speak to a rising tide of populism across the bloc.

These parties have, in many cases, broken the cordon sanitaireand are now shaping policy, despite occupying minority positions in their respective legislatures.

At the European level, for all the talk of a “surge” of support for the far-right and predictions of their coming to control the next European Parliament, the centre ground retains its dominance.

The difference now, though, is that it faces threats from extremist forces at both ends of the political spectrum and will be under pressure to engage with these groupings on key areas, such as migration policy, and to lean into their positions to avoid popularity loss.

To the right, there are now three competing blocs of votes — the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the Patriots for Europe, and the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) — which account for 25% of its legislature. This is up from 17% five years ago.

At the other extreme, the Left grouping and other left-wing but non-aligned parties have also seen an uptick in support and are emboldened by the recent performances of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) in Germany and the New Popular Front in France.

While these groups hold divergent views in many areas, they are united in their distrust of the EU institutions and their willingness to take pro-authoritarian stances.

They also share a determination