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New York Times
BUOYED by Donald Trump's election, Europe's far-right and populist parties are hoping for similar upset victories in elections this year and next in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Austria. If this weren't worrying enough, Trump's overtly conciliatory attitude toward Russia and his open admiration for Vladimir Putin have inspired the leaders of these European parties to dream of a grand new alliance between themselves, Putin and Trump.
On December 19, Heinz-Christian Strache, the leader of Austria's Freedom Party, signed what he called a cooperation agreement with Russia's ruling party. This was shortly after he reportedly paid a visit to Lt General Michael Flynn, whom Trump named as his national security adviser, at Trump Tower in New York."Internationally, the Freedom Party continues to gain in influence," Strache boasted. While Strache's party failed to win the country's largely symbolic presidency in elections last month, it is favoured to win a substantial number of seats in parliamentary elections scheduled for 2018.
Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's far-right National Front party, heralded Trump's election as"the emergence of a new world." She said a trio of world leaders that included herself, Trump and Putin"would be good for world peace." Le Pen's party received an $11.7 million loan from the Kremlin in 2014. She is expected to win enough votes in the first election round to make the runoff. Polls now predict she will face off against the establishment right-wing candidate Franأ§ois Fillon, an old friend of Putin who wants to lift European sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea.
An alliance that linked European leaders with Putin and Trump would make a mockery of Western efforts to defend from Russian aggression the liberal order that has guaranteed peace and prosperity in the West since the end of World War II. It would have terrible consequences for the survival of liberal democracy and the vital freedoms it protects, not only in Europe but in a world where autocratic leaders are on the rise.
Russia is already meddling in Europe's political future, hacking the German Parliament and spreading disinformation through its well-oiled propaganda machine. Trump's refusal to accept the conclusion of American intelligence agencies that Russia sought to meddle in the American presidential election gives further encouragement to Europe's right-wing and populist pro-Russia leaders, who already see their fortunes on the rise.
