The far right is surging in France, Germany and parts of Europe. What will this mean for Ukraine?

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · May 22, 2026 · 894 words · By Adam Simpson

Rise of Right-Wing Populism Ukraine-Russia Conflict European Union Stability

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What to know about Rise of Right-Wing Populism

The article discusses the rise of right-wing populist parties across Europe, specifically focusing on Italy, Austria, Germany, and France. It examines the potential impact of these parties on the European Union's stability and its continued support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

Propaganda risk 40%

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 3

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center86%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

In recent local elections in the United Kingdom and Australia, right-wing populism has appeared to be on the march.

Why it matters

Support has surged for the Reform UK and One Nation parties.

Common ground

Media speculation about a future Prime Minister Nigel Farage, or even a Prime Minister Pauline Hanson, is no longer off limits.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Appeal to Fear: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Rise of Right-Wing Populism story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that In Germany, the AfD proposes ending military aid for Ukraine, ending sanctions on Russia and restoring Russian fossil fuel imports?
How does this story connect Rise of Right-Wing Populism with Ukraine-Russia Conflict over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/the-far-right-is-surging-in-france-germany-and-parts…

analyticsAnalysis

40%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 90%

Moderate concerns. Notable use of persuasive or loaded language.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 95% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 85% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Appeal to Fear 70% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 4

check_circle Corroborated 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

info Single Source 1

verified Verified 1

cancel Disputed 1

info

Claim 1: “In Germany, the AfD proposes ending military aid for Ukraine, ending sanctions on Russia and restoring Russian fossil fuel imports.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While web search results mention candidates like Florian Philippot calling for these measures, there is no broad corroboration in the provided evidence that the AfD as a whole party platform has these specific three-pronged proposals officially documented across multiple sources in the provided set.

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web search NEUTRAL — Fossil fuel exports are a key enabler of Russia’s military buildup and brutal aggression against Ukraine. The Russian Energy Export Tracker is a project developed by CREA to bring light to details of …
https://energyandcleanair.org/financing-putins-war/

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web search NEUTRAL — - EU plans to end Russian fossil fuel imports by 2027, but environmental group decries spending habits since Ukraine war started in 2022. Melike Pala | 30.09.2025 - Update : 30.09.2025.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/france-belgium-spain-spent-m…

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web search NEUTRAL — French presidential hopeful Florian Philippot has called for lifting sanctions against Russia and restoring Russian energy imports.He added that sanctions on Russia imposed by Brussels should be ended…
https://www.rt.com/news/639853-france-philippot-end-russia-s…

verified

Claim 2: “Right-wing populists are already in power in other countries in Europe, such as Italy.”

VERIFIED

Multiple sources, including The Week and DW, confirm that right-wing populist governments or parties sharing power are present in Italy and other European nations.

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web search NEUTRAL — Right-wing populism, also called right populism and national populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_populism

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web search NEUTRAL — Right-wing populist and nationalist governments are in power in Russia, Turkey, India, Israel, Hungary, Poland, and the United States, and they share power with left-wing populists in Italy.
https://theweek.com/articles/804453/why-are-rightwing-populi…

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web search NEUTRAL — 2019 looks to be a good year for right-wing populists in Europe.Be it Italy, France, Hungary, Poland or Germany, many European countries are experiencing a s...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo0dFWOMaDM

cancel

Claim 3: “National Rally candidates are also preforming strongly in polls for France’s presidential election due in April 2017.”

DISPUTED

The claim mentions a presidential election due in 'April 2017'. This is a factual error as 2017 is in the past; the evidence provided does not support a future election in 2017, and the date is logically impossible for a future prediction.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Rally (French: Rassemblement national [ʁasɑ̃bləmɑ̃ nɑsjɔnal], RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (French: Front national, [fʁɔ̃ nɑsjɔnal], FN), is a French far-right polit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rally

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — National Rally (French: Rassemblement National, RN) was a political party in Belgium led by Jean Evrard, who was previously member of the Christian Social Rally of Liberty.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rally_(Belgium)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Rally group (French: Groupe Rassemblement National) is a parliamentary group in the National Assembly of France including representatives of the National Rally and League of the South for…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rally_group

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 4: “Marine Le Pen... took over from her father in 2011”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm the date Marine Le Pen took over leadership from her father.

schedule

Claim 5: “She reached the presidential runoffs in 2017 and 2022 but was comfortably defeated by centrist Emmanuel Macron both times.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 6: “Victor Orbán... led the Fidesz party, which held power in Hungary for 16 years until a monumental election victory for the pro-EU opposition in April.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 7: “Support has surged for the Reform UK and One Nation parties.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm a surge in support for Reform UK in recent elections and local contexts. Wikipedia confirms One Nation is a right-wing populist party in Australia, though the claim groups them together as a general trend of surging support for such parties.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Advance UK, formerly the Integrity Party, is a far-right political party in the United Kingdom led by Ben Habib, the former Deputy Leader of Reform UK, since June 2025. The party was launched in its c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_UK

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON), commonly known as One Nation (ON), is a right-wing populist and far-right political party in Australia. It is led by its founder Pauline Hanson, who has been a sena…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Nation

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Reform UK, often known simply as Reform, is a right-wing populist and far-right political party in the United Kingdom. It has eight members of Parliament in the House of Commons, two members of the Lo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_UK

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 8: “Le Pen supports Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea and has committed to France leaving NATO’s integrated command structure.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 9: “the new Hungarian government abandoned its veto of a €90 billion EU loan”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 10: “In Austria... [the Freedom Party] won the 2024 elections with almost 29% of the vote.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and news reports confirm the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) won the 2024 legislative election with 28.8% of the vote.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Legislative elections were held in Austria on 29 September 2024 to elect the 28th National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. The election saw the far-right Freedom Party of A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Austrian_legislative_elec…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Austrian People's Party (German: Österreichische Volkspartei [ˈøːstɐraɪçɪʃɛ ˌfɔlksparˈtaɪ], ÖVP [ˌøːfaʊˈpeː]) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since J…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_People's_Party

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Freedom Party of Austria (German: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Party_of_Austria

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 11: “Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy... won the most votes in the 2022 election and leads a right-wing coalition government.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and The Guardian explicitly confirm that Brothers of Italy won the most votes in the 2022 election and leads the coalition government under Giorgia Meloni.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Early general elections were held in Italy on 25 September 2022. After the fall of the Draghi government, which led to a parliamentary impasse, President Sergio Mattarella dissolved Parliament on 21 J…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Italian_general_election

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Brothers of Italy (Italian: Fratelli d'Italia, FdI) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy, that is currently the country's ruling party. After becoming the larges…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_of_Italy

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. It consists of a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 12: “Two regional German elections are due in September, where Alternative for Germany are leading polls.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results report that the AfD is leading polls (specifically citing 37%) ahead of regional votes in September (e.g., Mecklenburg-Vorpommern).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alternative for Germany (German: Alternative für Deutschland, AfD [aːʔɛfˈdeː] ) is a far-right, right-wing populist, national conservative, and völkisch nationalist political party in Germany. It has …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_for_Germany

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This page is a list of the Alternative for Germany party's election results.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_for_Germany_electi…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The German Alternative (German: Deutsche Alternative or DA) was a minor Neo-Nazi group set up in Germany by Michael Kühnen in 1989.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Alternative

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 13: “The party [AfD] has been labelled an “extremist entity” by Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources confirm that Germany's federal domestic intelligence agency (BfV) has labeled the AfD as an extremist entity.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Germany's spy agency BfV has labeled the entirety of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as an extremist entity. The BfV, which is in charge of safeguarding Germany 's constitutional ord…
https://www.dw.com/en/german-afd-party-labeled-extremist-by-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Germany's domestic intelligence labels right-wing AfD party as extremist.The AfD is a right-wing extremist group, German intelligence agency says. May 2. By Chris Lunday.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…

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web search NEUTRAL — Germany’s Intelligence Agency Labels Far-Right AfD as Extremist. The designation is certain to inflame debates over whether the party should be banned, though some polls show it to be the most popular…
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/world/europe/germany-afd-…

help

Claim 14: “National Rally (more widely known as RN) was founded in 1972 and had early links to neo-fascism.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results for this specific claim regarding the founding date and neo-fascist links of the National Rally.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.