At a summit in Germany, nationalism goes international
Marine Le Pen, Geert Wilders and other European populists try to make common cause
TWO ghosts haunted a “counter-summit” of Europe’s nationalist leaders in the German city of Koblenz on January 21st: Angela Merkel and Donald Trump. To the 1,000-odd visitors, most of them supporters of the anti-establishment Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Mrs Merkel epitomised all that is rotten in Europe: out of touch, elitist and besotted with immigrants. (Chants of “Merkel must go!” punctuated the day’s speeches.) The energy of Mr Trump’s inauguration the previous day, by contrast, crackled through the proceedings. “Last year the wind began to turn,” said Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party. “It brought us the victory of Trump!” The crowd whooped.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “We are the alt-world”
Europe
January 28th 2017- Germany’s Social Democrats pick Martin Schulz as leader
- At a summit in Germany, nationalism goes international
- Matteo Renzi pushes for early elections
- Emmanuel Macron finds new space in the centre of French politics
- Why Russia is about to decriminalise wife-beating
- Cyprus can be reunified, if Turkey’s president allows it
From the January 28th 2017 edition
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Russia continues to rain down death on Ukrainian cities
Soldiers can hold the line, but drones and missiles are killing civilians
The thing about Europe: it’s the actual land of the free now
Europe’s very real problems don’t look so bad by comparison
Spanish morgues are straining to identify migrants
For those who drown trying to reach Europe, the freezers are full
Turkey’s government is trying to repress its way out of a crisis
Protests against the arrest of an opposition leader continue to boil
Germany’s new centrist government is reassuring but bland
Friedrich Merz’s promises to transform the country have been scaled back
The EU’s response to Donald Trump’s tariffs seems to work
The world’s biggest trade bloc takes its time and uses its weight