Right-wing populists and the EU | DW Documentary

[Music] the alternative for Germany politician Guido Isle is in Brussels the power center of the European Union I have to see where I need to go the road leads to the European Parliament the aisle is number two on the AFD list for the European elections it's very likely he'll be earning his living here soon his aim is to undermine the EU from within that's our idea to be sand in the gearbox and open things up a bit to Dickie right-wing populist Sauron the advance throughout Europe together they are flexing their muscles more than ever [Applause] for millions of followers they offer hope and the promise of being part of a movement but he made a lot more we used to be a Fiat 500 now will soon be a Ferrari laferrari we take a look around Europe who votes for the right and why in Italy France Germany and Hungary and what kind of Europe do the right-wing populists want in France the French first in Italy the Italians are they United only because they see a common enemy [Applause] jido violets a colleague show him around 'mo'lympic a migrant district in brussels he thinks it's the perfect place for his message he announced during the election campaign that he would actually move here the AFD candidate loves stunts like this I wanted to move to Mullin big so when I come home each day I can see why I'm fighting I guess not all the streets in Mullin Beck look like this there must be a few corners where you can still live in safety it's Kyle's first time in molenbeek and he's not even trying to talk to the people there but he's quickly reached a verdict anyway so many Muslims in one place makes him queasy of course he says he has no beef with other cultures but well Islam somehow I feel the freedom we have enjoyed for decades is under threat I feel threatened by too many immigrants who come from a completely different cultural backgrounds who have a completely different community of values and they live according to them but the worst is the fact that they practice their peculiarities openly rile solution is simple isolation he wants to adopt a tough stance in Brussels no common European Asylum system and no quotas for the distribution of refugees the AFD actually wants to abolish the EU Parliament but as long as it's there the AFD will use it as a stage if our borders were protected like the EU Parliament I'd be a huge fan of the EU after several others stepped down AFD leader yurga Morton is the party's only MEP he's hoping for new allies Europe's right-wing populist SAR spread across several political groups Morton is trying to forge a grand alliance as well skeet let's see in the end it's all about winning votes it's easier with a large group than with a small one it's as simple as that we'll be able to exert more political influence if we're part of the right-wing conservative camp [Music] Malan a few days later Morten is meeting Matteo salvini Italy's interior minister and leader of the Northern League the lega Nord salvini has called for new right-wing alliance and although only three European politicians have accepted his invitation so far he's still attracting a lot of support I'm also representing the French the Austrians the Dutch the Belgians etc etc etc Italy's interior minister as a potential leader of a new right-wing Europe he's celebrated on Italy's piazzas as a shock to the old political elite few noticeably on wood when politicians talk like politicians but salvini is different he speaks the language of the people of all of us Simona Capirossi is 37 years old and works as a caretaker in a municipal nursing home in Mata Tata in eastern Italy he doesn't want to be filmed at work he's a well-known lega supporter and his employer the city's left-wing mayor has his eye on him he calls us fascists Nazis and all that what he doesn't get is I'm not a racist I only have something against the criminals who come to my homeland much errata is actually a tranquil place but last year it attracted national attention after a Nigerian was suspected of murdering an 18 year old Italian woman then a right-wing radical went out and randomly shot at anyone with dark skin lekha boss salvini was under no illusions about who was morally responsible for the violence the European Union's refugee and migration policies were flooding the country with illegal immigrants even many migrants say to me hey salvini don't let anybody else in they're already too many Salva nice rhetoric went down well in much errata in the parliamentary elections the legged jumped from less than 1% to almost 21% of the vote and it's likely to take even more in the European elections many recent surveys show the lega at over 30 percent across Italy we go into the center of machacas old town to visit sell very many Kelly's shop she also supports the lega in addition to kitchen knives and razors she now also sells pepper spray because there are so many strangers in town with the African those Africans I don't know if they bring the drugs from their countries but they sell them here other ethnic groups are not so difficult the Indians for example are nice quiet people I mean they were popular and really long generalizations like these are doing great harm to many here social worker danielle aman say is a native Nigerian and an Italian citizen he's lived here for 40 years racism is becoming more and more open in the past it was less visible now everything's exploded but plenty of people also oppose it lunch with amantani 'he's one of the guests is Ibrahim from Mauritania he's the second African refugee the family has taken into its home the fact that Salvi knees government refuses to allow refugee boats to dog and persecutes aid organizations makes them angry salvini is only using fear fear of the stranger of the migrant but his scare mongering is a double-edged sword so he also attacks anyone who disagrees with him and his policies including us the Montana's don't get any money for their hospitality they act out of conviction Ibrahim will stay with them for up to a year it's really nice to be here with us I know it's true you're my second family Daniel is angry that the government is increasingly neglecting its responsibilities when for example they cut funding for language and integration courses for migrants it doesn't help Society on the contrary the slogans of the populists are worming their way into the heads of people who don't have much themselves salvini and his crew have started a war by inciting poor people against other poor people an apartment block just a few minutes drive away symbolizes poverty and social tensions hundreds of people from dozens of nations live here many of them illegally most of the original residents have moved away over the years the block has changed beyond recognition salvini voter and lega member luca Davide lives on the third floor he's one of the last Italians here luca's mother is visiting him today she bought the apartment four decades ago it looked just wonderful here how can I put it it was like a fairy tale they were great stalls downstairs all nice and tidy in the evening we went down to the Piazza there was music and we used to dance it was really beautiful it's beautiful today the apartments here have lost their value and nothing remains of the splendor of those bygone days a lot of things have not worked here for a long time prostitution drugs and a lack of security are the biggest problems Lucas says in every other country of the world the police will jump all over you if you commit a crime it's just our country where people get away with it everyone in this house no matter what country they come from says the same the police are more aggressive back home interior minister salvini has already been here he said he would help the residents and even have the building torn down but that hasn't proved easy the ownership structure alone is too complicated of course we know that salvini is not a magician who can solve all our problems but at least he inspires decent people like us to change things annoy Luka and his mother don't think much of the European Union Italy pays in too much money they say and gets too little out of it a widely held opinion only 44% of Italians would vote in favor of remaining in the EU in a referendum fewer than in any other member state when legis supporters simona capita da c walks his dog he can still see the damage caused by the 2016 earthquake he wanted more support including from the EU I felt badly treated like the son whose father won't give him anything so no I certainly did not see myself as a citizen of Europe Simona's boss mayor Romano Karen tini acknowledges that the center-left parties have gambled away a lot of trust in recent years but he refuses to resign himself to the rise of the right in his City and yet he believes the answer to many questions is more not less Europe we must defeat this sort of ignorance and Salvi knees terrible motto Italians first the mayor repeatedly invites us to information events highlighting the positive aspects of the EU but not many citizens turn up there's more going on at the lega event and wine and pizza salvini has even sent a senator to stir up the party's grassroots for the European election campaign with great success we have grown up the party is growing and growing I always say we used to be afeared 500 now will soon be a Ferrari Rome in springtime and Italy's right-wing populists Tsar trying to export their newly found self-confidence beyond their national borders the llegas youth wing has invited its counterparts from around Europe to meet in a hotel in the city center the Instagram generation is out in force as young European politicians mount the podium to fire off what seemed more like war cries than political speeches [Music] spiritual and political scavengers of our proud continent and these people deserve nothing else but to be overrun the day's star guest is Jordan bard Ella the French writes top candidate he may only be 23 years old but he's already got big plans the current European Union does not work because it cannot defend the peoples of Europe the nations want to emancipate themselves we the young generation of the right call for a Europe of Nations and we could soon be the ones to govern this Europe together the right-wing populists sin brussels are also dreaming of this German MEP Marcos boo Hyde is one of the manipulators in the background at the EU Parliament there you are boo Hyde is young eloquence and well-connected he's linked up with populist from Austria France and the Netherlands this is a party with a strong personality cult these personal ties bode well for the new alliance yes we appreciate German thoroughness Marko as always does it well the vote is important you can ask each other questions you always have to see if you can reach a compromise bull height used to be in the conservative CSU but now he's got a career with the AFD he too will probably soon be a member of the EU Parliament his contacts are useful for the AFD especially since the right-wing alliance has come across some sticking points the italians debt policy for example annoys the head of the AFD if i think about fiscal and monetary policy I can imagine that those very areas where we're doing well with migration policy will prove problematic for our monetary policies political scientist Suzy Denison says such contradictions are currently still largely hidden by the election campaign she works for a pro EU think-tank and warns that populist skus low down the EU from within what they're doing instead is trying to create this idea of a Europe of sovereign nations within that that means that that the power lies at the national level if you take it away from the European level and therefore they're not really interested in this more flexible more responsive Europe that the reform ideas of macro and Merkel have been trying to create so for them that is the advantage of paralysis in showing that the institutions don't work they aren't necessary and power is better off at the national level according to surveys right-wing populists s-- can expect about a quarter of the seats in the EU Parliament but what would cooperation look like then and what about countries that violate the --use Democratic rules and values the agreements to these sanctions is only going to get harder in an environment where the far-right parties have a strong showing in these elections and I think that that will be significant because if it becomes clear that actually the you can't agree these sanctions then the threat falls away and so I think we will see a kind of an increasing recognition that the EU is quite toothless Hungary is one country that would be well served by a toothless EU Brussels is currently taking action against Prime Minister Viktor orbán's government accusing it of systematically undermining democracy and restricting fundamental rights it's true hungary has changed it has become a radical right-wing country we are experiencing the rebirth of a world we have only known from history books literature or films shortly before the broadcast of the political talk show could focus regular commentator Shandor cinta lon presenter ishtvan Deveny and the other guests are preparing for the weekly show under very makeshift conditions [Music] last year they were all sitting in a fancy TV studio then an oligarch loyal to Orban took over the station and kicked out the government critical program now the show only runs on the Internet and they soon won't be able to afford that either we still have a lot of viewers but hardly anybody places advertisements with us anymore the companies don't want to make fun of the powerful and devoid us the state advertisements in turn are distributed according to the political preferences of the government so we don't get them either that's how the Hungarian media landscape works now we need the other been more and more private broadcasters and publishing houses in Hungary have been brought into Orban's line as has state radio other media houses have closed down Hungary has slipped to 87th in the world on the reporters without borders press freedom rankings we have an interview with Hungary's Minister of State for EU relations she disagrees I wouldn't say in any even that they are limited in the expression not to mention the social media you can put everything on the net what you want to express so this is a clear this information so is Hungary just a victim of fake news many here see it that way including Catalan hampel a fashion designer known in Budapest [Music] her shop in the city center sells traditional costumes to both locals and tourists she sees herself as a kind of cultural ambassador the clothes we sell a meant to reflect Hungarian values the history of our great nation the importance of hungry Catalan humble is an urban fan as an entrepreneur she benefits from low taxes but it is not just the government's economic policy that she approves of or bans Fidesz party could make Hungary's strong again she doesn't think democracy is in danger think about it orbán has won three elections in a row and has a two-thirds majority the hungarians want him that's something you in Western Europe finally have to accept a liberal democracies as Orban himself once called the form of government he aspired to are admired by right-wing populists throughout europe and viewed critically by their opponents [Music] canadian michael ignatieff is a university rector and has been observing Orban system for a long time and a liberal democracy is a democracy in which you have elections but you don't have any or any of the counter balancing institutions that balance majority rule acknowledge Central European University has itself become a plaything of orbán's policies last year it decided to move part of its campus from Budapest to Vienna as the government increased pressure or ban seized the university's founder Hungarian American billionaire George Soros as an enemy of the state declaring Soros wants to destabilize Hungary and Europe and his non-governmental organizations want to attract a million migrants a year to the European Union if George Soros didn't exist they'd have to invent him this kind of politics needs an enemy they've created an enemy the idea that George Soros is responsible for the migration flows is a paranoid fantasy but it's a useful one it has no basis in fact but it allows them to mobilize their political base in this country and that grassroots base lives mainly in the countryside Aundre for zakat is a wine grower about a two-hour drive from Budapest he says he's very interested in politics the Fidesz government is the only one you can trust it follows a clear path because it's committed to Hungarian interests that's why we elected Andres says he is proud of his white wines but also of his homeland what he likes about Viktor Orban is that he is committed to Hungarian families and against migration the fact that virtually no foreigners live in the area does not detract from the fear when the flood of migration reaches us we're done for I don't know how well you know Hungarian history but we've already stood against the Tartars and Turks we've defended Europe against Islam several times our bond is also against Muslim immigrants settling and hungry many of his supporters couldn't care less whether he joined Salvi knees new right-wing alliance or not the main thing for them is his continued opposition to the distribution of refugees within the EU even legal migration is in reality just a cover name for a population exchange program in Europe that's what the elections about population exchange a phrase straight out of the right-wing conspiracy theorists handbook but despite all the anger at the e use policies Hungary is still happy to take agricultural subsidies and other financial aid from Brussels we drive home on motorways co-financed by the EU Hungary receives more than 3 billion euros from the EU budget each year nevertheless a lot of Hungarians live in great poverty and the young and well-educated are leading the country Blanca Nagy is 19 years old and will graduate from high school this year if possible she wants to stay in Hungary and study but a lot of people aren't making her life easy right now I'm subjected to repeated verbal attacks messages from strangers saya should die that I should have died in my mother's womb I'm trying to ignore all this as a cat number sound sad last winter this blurred Internet video made Blanca famous she was at a demonstration against orbán's policies and threats to the rule of law and she launched a foul-mouthed tirade against the government as a disgusting gang of thieves she's been publicly hunted down ever since commentators and journalists close to Fidesz had been reporting on her private life and even making fun of her school grades on television Blanca says she follows the media circus with bewilderment and disgust most of the media don't mention that her protest has a serious background Blanca's father died of cancer in 2015 since then she has mainly directed her scorn at the Hungarian Health System still like two more to one there are people lying on Gurney's in the hallways and nobody cares and then I hear that the government is once again building a stadium or a friend of the government has been seen with a 30,000 euro watch that really makes you think Cody cause I'm bad every now and then a bubble bursts in Hungary and people take to the streets to protest against labor laws the restructuring of the judiciary corruption and the system as a whole Fidesz you have failed in three important subjects integrity humanity and honesty but the opposition is in the minority here their opponents who present Brussels as an enemy have the upper hand they're likely to win further victories in the near future including in the European elections back to Essen and the Ruhr Valley in Germany the home of a FD candidate ghido Heil the former miner spent 26 years in the liberal SPD then he switched to the AFT the party has used his working-class roots promoting him as the minor for Europe but others have sprayed his house with graffiti Kyle doesn't see himself as a right-wing agitator and believes people here understand what he's talking about [Music] nothing they make sure bananas are crooked and cucumbers have got to be like this but for the people themselves nothing left for them the refugees will affect pensions they'll finally have to start closing the borders but many questions go unanswered Kyle says he is fighting for little people in the AFD s fractious social policy debate and he also avoids complex questions I'm not someone who knows everything like a true professional politician I'm just learning I'm a hobby politician I'm a minor hobby politician and number two on the party's MEP list I talked to media coaches and reject that I need three points on each topic and everyone will think I'm smart but no I just be a talking dummy who practiced the answer I don't ever want to be that guy all hurry's from appointment to appointment students at the Camp Flint Ford High School have invited politicians to a panel discussion a lot of students took part in the climate demos vials AFD calls it climate hysteria mr. riah the AFT denies climate change what's your opinion there's no evidence of manmade climate change whatsoever there's no evidence whatsoever that co2 is responsible in any way and the best thing is there's no evidence that one or two degrees warmer might not be quite beneficial we've had these warm phases before when Rome was at its zenith it was much warmer yet we were no worse off politics beyond all scientific knowledge I'll tries again and again to dominate the podium with his ideas Europe has never really worked all the projects they take on never really work they talk about peace security and prosperity only it's not true have to directly disagree this is so wrong that not even the opposite is right we don't always have to say that everything's great I don't like all the government's policies yet I don't question the Federal Republic all the time trial says he wants to encourage the students to think but his statements draw some criticism in some respects he may be right that not everything in the EU works but you can't solve that by simply abolishing the EU or taking away some of its opportunities to do better as the other politicians have said the only thing we can do is strengthen it there is still this feeling this disquiet something's going wrong AFD officials call Germany an opinion dictatorship whereas the party says its truth is the only truth this has eroded public confidence in democracy while democracy looks different exactly freedom of speech yes absolutely freedom of speech should be the supreme good but you just can't have the wrong opinion that's how it is so the AFT no other party comes into question why not yeah why there are too many arguments to go into in detail what are the most important ones well I'll try to sum it up a lot of things aren't going right here are they the feeling of not being understood by the powerful in France that's driven a lot of people out onto the streets on Saturdays the yellow vests always call for a manual McColl's resignation even in Lille in northern France the demo started in protest at the president's reforms now some are even talking about revolution Didier and his friends come regularly they want to see more direct democracy lower taxes and higher minimum wages they see the European elections in a purely French light macrons party wins the European elections he'll say the French want me to continue I want to prevent that so I'm going to vote my family can't really complain I'm a lawyer and my husband is a computer scientist and we have a child but we pay far too much in taxes we're still making quite a good living but we have to be here because of everything else that isn't going well with IMI's they're still undecided who to vote for marine lepen would like to direct their anger to the ballot box with votes for her right-wing populist party formerly the phone Nacional the National Front now called the Hassan voluminous una national rally Mack Hall is the perfect target for them lepen and top candidate bar della make a commitment to the party's grassroots it's about beating Macomb that's what many people in Danann think - it was once a prosperous steel and mining town but that's now history the poverty rate here is more than 40% joseph Sauvage owns one of the bars that hasn't had to close his regular customers keep him afloat they eat dinner together once a month and recall better times so in the 80s and 90s they tore this place down all these buildings we're right here was the company the sports build the district all that belonged to the company we were the richest here in the north they have experienced a lot of change first economic then political Danang used to be communist then socialist but the left lost a lot of ground and left a gap to be filled by the right-wing populist in the presidential election a large proportion did not vote at all of the rest 57% voted for lepen Joseph openly says he supports her this is discontent if you gave them a little more money they'd go to a restaurant they boost the economy and have a good time people can't live on 800 and 900 euro the same goes for pensioners we've been demanding purchasing power for 20 weeks but Mekons gone deaf he's not listening McColl's opponent lepen wants to capitalize on this discontent manifesto preaches economic patriotism French Goods French workers France first and leading candidate Jordan Videla demands that migrants should take a back seat to choose with the means of the state which are becoming more and more limited to help our poor our unemployed and our pensioners it's common sense of all souls but McCall is fighting back he wanted to reform France and remake the EU and present himself as a counterpoint to lepen and salvini we live in a world of migration I don't believe in walls back in little citizens meeting without all the presidential razzmatazz are still discussing the same issues ecology democracy taxes mokou is often accused of being a president of the big cities giving people a voice at the local level is important everyone has something to discuss here but one issue still seems to dominate a man Ewan MacColl seen by his critics as the president of the rich since the abolition of the wealth tax some may think the abolition of the wealth tax is good others don't but maybe a higher tax should be levied on luxury goods the problem is that we tax very little of the assets that consist of enormous blocks of stocks so people constantly make up to 10% return in share trading mcholland they say later now has to prove that he has got the message his townhall dialogues have raised expectations and now he is making concessions to the yellow vests I want to provide relief for people who work and significantly reduce income taxes we need to see how we finance this McCall's offer might have brought him a little breathing space but many think that's still too little people in turn and don't feel his policies are aimed at them anyway a good 35% of the people here are without a job the right-wing populists have conquered the city [Music] ball song so is fascinated by the social fractures and his photograph Danette and its people for a graphic novel he called it the roots of anger what fascinated me was giving people a face and a voice people who would otherwise be made invisible the right-wing populists SAR also interested in those people they present themselves as attentive listeners whereas the socialist mayor is absent the national rally formerly National Front has always defended the French people we're not defending the international corporations or the EU we're defending the interests of France the people here in the village are very sensitive they understand that that's why they choose us this is where they're trying to win over undecided voters and there are votes to be one here noid do forest survives with odd jobs and says he's neither right nor left wing the rally team wants to meet him yes the Member of Parliament wanted to meet me talk to me in his office why not I didn't reject his offer I accepted accepted so the right-wing populists SAR trying to expand their network in Germany like here in often Borg an aft meeting on the one side and counter-demonstrators on the other there is great resistance to the AFD police provide a buffer between the camps this is not a democratic project where everyone can feel at home this is a project of exclusion of selfishness and I'm demonstrating against it here today the AFD says it wants to defend Europe in Brussels its speeches are full of fear and pathos as if our very survival is at stake we are the last chance for our cultures for democracy which was invented in Europe for humanism for enlightenment we are the last chance for European freedom as who are destroying Europe their names are Janka Timmerman's Schulz Draghi Mackel Weber these are the Destroyers of the European idea ladies and gentlemen but the right wing vision of the future is still rather vague and not only in Germany right-wing populist above all emphasize what or whom they are against if you ask them what they're for they often resort to slogans such as Europe of Nations Susy Denison warns against getting drawn in by what she sees as a trick that framing of it being kind of lepen versus Mac Hong or in a wider European sense of it being the Macomb vision of Europe versus that of Oban or salvini I think is very much the way that the far-right are trying to frame these elections but I think that it would be a mistake for the pro European parties including my console to work with that I think it's far more important to sell the importance to mobilize European voters through the idea of what Europe deliver on the right-wing populists have an easier job simply targeting the enemy in Brussels which could pay off for them in the coming European elections [Music] [Music]

Channel: DW Documentary

Views: 578,511

Keywords: Europe, right-wing populism, EU elections, Orbán, Salvini, far-right politics, Right-wing populists, populism, politics, European politics, EU, European elections, European Union, Marine Le Pen, Brussels, AfD, Italy, France, Germany, documentary, DW Documentary, DW

Id: uo0dFWOMaDM

Length: 42min 26sec (2546 seconds)

Published: Mon May 20 2019