Germany has reinstated controls at all its
land borders, and Europe has hardly flinched. These checks will be
“smart,” according to officials in Berlin. In other words, freedom of
movement will remain, and the Schengen area will survive, just as it did
through COVID. But history will note that a right-wing chancellor, Angela
Merkel, welcomed refugees with open arms, while a left-wing chancellor, Olaf
Scholz, moved to close the door to Islamist terrorism and “cross-border
crime,” including migrant smuggling.
Since the 2016 Christmas market
attack—where 12 people were killed and 48 injured in Berlin—Germany has faced a
string of incidents that have deeply affected public opinion. Following attacks
in Hamburg, Dresden, Duisburg, and Mannheim, the three deaths and eight
injuries in Solingen in August were particularly significant. The attacker, a
Syrian man, was in the country illegally. Yet the government’s shift is not
solely due to pressure from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which
is thriving on anti-immigrant sentiment.
The Left’s radical turn to xenophobic populism
The AfD’s success in regional elections in
Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg has overshadowed another phenomenon: the
shift of part of the radical left toward xenophobic populism, leading to
dramatic electoral gains. It’s no coincidence that Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of
the “Left AfD” and a Marxist, was a former leader of Die Linke, a
democratic socialist political party in Germany. Her partner is a former head
of the Social Democrats.
The German left is not the first to undergo
this painful revision to reconnect with workers and a declining middle class.
In Stockholm, the Social Democrats made a similar turn in 2022 under the
leadership of Magdalena Andersson, who briefly served as prime minister. In
Britain, where riots have disrupted the early days of the Labour government, an
ideological shift is also underway.
Even before taking office as UK prime
minister, Keir Starmer promised to reduce what he called “ultra-high”
immigration. He believes that social dumping is what makes the United Kingdom
so attractive to migrants, pushing the working class toward populism. It’s said
that French leaders have long suggested this approach to successive
Conservative prime ministers. Instead of relying solely on repressive
immigration policies, Starmer is supporting the wage demands of unions,
something the Labour Party under Tony Blair openly disregarded.
In France, the left remains firmly
committed to its traditional stance. Attempts by former president François
Hollande, former prime ministers Manuel Valls, or Bernard Cazeneuve to shift
the policy were seen as betrayals, leaving lasting scars. But for how long? The
recent split between François Ruffin, who left the radical-left La France Insoumise
party, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed party suggests new cracks
are emerging. While La France Insoumise party has focused on an alliance between
student youth and immigrant neighborhoods, Ruffin is now openly accusing
Mélenchon of fostering a kind of community-based politics. Is this the populist
drift of a left-wing leader in free fall, or is it a sign of a potential return
to the working class, which has largely turned to the far-right National Rally?
It may be too soon to tell.
Jean-Pierre Denis, a veteran journalist and editor, is the publisher of La Croix International.
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Publish date : 2024-09-26 02:40:00
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