Recently, the entire media and public sphere exploded after some results surfaced regarding the ongoing EU Parliament elections, which saw the election of many nationalists and conservatives.
If we separate the wheat from the chaff, in the end the results are quite clear: there are much more seats taken by conservative or right-leaning groups and a lot of seats lost by left-leaning representatives.
Let’s look just at the preliminary numbers in regards to the EU as a whole: as of the writing of this article, the Renew Europe political group, which aligns itself, according to their website, with liberal democratic values and against “autocrats,” has lost 22 seats in the Parliament.
The Greens have also so far lost 19 seats.
To the contrary, there’s an influx of EPP representatives – the European People’s Party Group (gained 14 seats), a center-right group.
Elections specific to France and Germany – the two European powerhouses – are even more exemplary. In France, Emmanuel Macron’s party has suffered a humiliating defeat to Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party (which describes itself as a movement and not a party), which adheres to French nationalist ideas. Marine Le Pen in some publications has also been called “Putin’s friend” (which in the modern Western-European mind reads close to “the enemy of our world”; real or alleged connections to Russia and Vladimir Putin seem to be an extremely effective enemy tag). Following this rout, Macron announced snap elections; in his own words: “I do not want to give the keys to power to the far right in 2027.”
In Germany, Scholz’s SDP has fallen to third place – after the opposition CDU/CSU and the right-wing AfD (Alternative for Germany; who call themselves Liberals and Conservatives, convinced democrats).
Curiously enough, when you read the statements and “Who we are” sections of the majority of the EU Parliament political groups from all sides of the political spectrum, they use the same vague buzzwords and state the same commitment – they are all pro-Europe, for a united whole Europe ready to face challenges, while claiming, as is the case with the RE group, there are forces that strive to divide European communities.
But let us now turn our attention to the media, both European and otherwise. There’s an unsurprising unanimity in the branding of these new developments; let’s make it clear – the left side of the political spectrum has been holding power and controlling the growth and direction of Western powers over the last decades. With some right-leaning influx, their power is not threatened to be overthrown just yet, but it’s threatened to be somewhat checked – not mainly through the implementation of policies, since the EU Parliament is far from being the most important body in the union, but, instead, through public perception, through the presentation of change and other ways of moving forward that are also possible. Which go in direct opposition to the values and wishes of those currently in power.
An eons-old flaw of human nature comes around to bite us all yet again – once power is attained, even the most previously pure-hearted and progressive politician will think twice before parting with it. In our modern age, media is the vehicle of power, its chassis, upon which every center of political force builds its own tank. This piece of armor assumes its media shape in respect to who builds it: and the tank rolling the internet fields today is definitely operated by the left, threatened by current tendencies.
They are not as dangerous as it would seem from the headlines. But every propaganda ace knows that it is important to immediately marginalize, exclude, demonize every possible threat to control its potential growth.
So what is there in the news that makes the situation look so bad?
Let’s turn to some notable publications, even on the other side of the pond. This article from the Washington Post now calls Europe possibly a “crucible for a new age of right-wing politics in the West.” You can find the word “far-right” there 13 times. “A far-right surge upends national politics,” says CNN. An opinion piece at The Guardian asks: “How far-right parties seduced young voters across Europe.” There is a clear tendency in the conversation about the EU elections, no matter where you look.
The entire term “far right” lately has become just one of the many buzzwords left-leaning media outlets like to use.
What do you think or feel when you hear the words “Nazi,” “racist,” “sexist”?
The majority of us will feel apprehension, hostility; these words, when assigned to a person or a group, put us on guard. Far-right has joined their ranks – it is a tag of apprehension put on those who diverge even a little from the left. Hence, the EPP, which is center-right, also becomes far right, and the audience susceptible to such usage of buzzwords reaches for their pitchforks. The far right is surging, they say. Europe is threatened. But why does the left party promise that they are pro-European weigh more than the same claim from the other side?
This is a direct result of the weaponization of our language. Throw enough labels at your opponent – and some will be left hanging.
Even Canada’s Justin Trudeau told reporters in Quebec City that “It is of concern to see political parties choosing to instrumentalize anger, fear, division, anxiety.” It is this relentless language weaponization and political opponent demonization that leads to division.
Alas, political opponents, wrestling with each other, more often resort to these methods, discarding the centuries-proven Socratic method of dialogue and discussion, which facilitates unity rather than division. But it’s much simpler and more convenient to agitate and accuse.
The fact of the matter is, the right and the far-right really are winning over young generations today. A lot of media outlets have been mentioning it, and they are indeed correct in this observation.
Why is that?
First of all, the entire world today is going through a trend towards fragmentation and protectionism. It is most noticeable in the growing number of countries (case in point – Hungary) turning away from the values of globalization and towards national interests and local cooperation instead. Globalization, with all its benefits, doesn’t come without the heavy toll of public exhaustion, especially when certain changes to societies are being pushed.
Immigration, for instance, which remains one of the U.S.’s and EU’s major problems. This exhaustion leads to people searching for alternative ways of life – which they find in the promises of the growing crowd of right-leaning politicians. It seems that societies across the world are standing upon a threshold of a great change, something that will shape decades to come.
However, there’s a much more prosaic reason for this right turn.
No matter how droll it sounds, populists by their nature are just better at social media. The internet overall and social media in particular have permeated our lives today to such a degree that it’s borderline impossible for the young generations to imagine existence without such vehicles for the spread of information. As a result, a shrewd and active social media influencer is able to deliver his or her points and present his or her vision to massive audiences with a snap of their fingers. In the days of old, to achieve such informational reach and influence over entire generations, a political movement must have possessed very, very deep coffers. Today, with almost zero investment, we can achieve the same results. Never in our lives has information been so devalued.
Platforms like TikTok, popular and widespread among the young, present a lot of new opinions and way of doing things.
Right-leaning, far-right, and populist personalities rake in more viewers, followers, and support, than the left. They’re just better at it. Just look at the ratio between subscribers on Joe Biden’s TikTok and Donald Trump’s TikTok.
A lack of proficiency in modern ways of reaching young audiences is an unforgivable mistake. And the one who makes it – even if they are in power – is bound to face issues as the new generation reaches its voting age.
Artem Belov is an author and translator with a Master's in Engineering and a Certificate in Competing Regionalisms from Tartu University, Estonia. With a deep-rooted interest in political theory, regionalism, and international politics, as well as his solid knowledge of Russian affairs, he explores the relationship between Russia and the world. His work at Substack can be viewed at https://projectgrach.substack.
Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
