Are we witnessing a return of fascism in the West? This is the question posed by Jean-François Nadeau in his column of July 21, ” The Incredible Hulk ». For my part, I would answer yes and no at the same time.
Yes, because the extreme right, which can be considered the “parliamentary” counterpart of fascism, has the wind in its sails in most Western countries and, what is particular in this case (and worrying in the same way), in two of those which have represented the “modern” culmination of the very idea of ”democracy”: France and the United States of America (“republican” democracy in the first case, “liberal” in the second).
That this political option is regaining momentum in Germany and Italy responds to a certain “historical” logic; once a weed has invaded a garden, it is difficult to eliminate it completely, unless you pull out the roots and throw them into the fire, which does not seem to have been done in these two former members of the Axis. The same goes for Spain and Portugal, which, not so long ago, experienced dark hours whose consequences are still being felt today.
No, because, at least for the moment, if we take the example of Giorgia Meloni’s Italy, even if the Italian Prime Minister did not hide her admiration for Mussolini (a “true” patriot), she took the gamble of subscribing completely docilely to European neoliberal orthodoxy in economic matters, perhaps even more than a typical liberal conservative, “Christian democracy” style, would have done.
Her phobia of immigration cannot yet be fully actualized, given that she is forced to respect at least the fundamental principles of European law, which does not seem to have yet taken on the “collaborationist” tendency of American legal institutions (the Supreme Court), in the process of preparing the ground for an almost complete “carte blanche” for Donald Trump for his next term.
Another example that leads me to qualify the idea of a strong return of “fascism” is the evolution of the National Front (FN) in France since its founding in 1972. Whether it does so out of electoral opportunism, as a strategy to attract moderates from the traditional right, or whether it is the result of a process of “sincere” ideological moderation, the party has radically distanced itself from the positions of its founder (Jean-Marie Le Pen) concerning Europe, both on “economic” issues (with France fully integrated into the Eurozone) and “political” issues (with full participation in the European Parliament, where the FN, now the National Rally, forms alliances with other parties of the same “ideological” tendency).
In short, the fascist extreme right is careful not to shamelessly display its anti-liberalism (or its “illiberalism”, if you prefer) as Mussolini, Hitler and Franco openly claimed in the interwar period (1920-1930); despite a proven taste among some for ” one man show » exuberant (Trump in the United States, Milei in Argentina, Bolsonaro in Brazil ─ even if to a lesser extent), these populists and experts in demagogy remain cautious and circumspect in their positions, their decisions, their initiatives in order not to frighten their respective electorate and to remain credible in the eyes of the “global” economic and financial elite, for whom the priority always remains socio-political stability favorable to investments, the free market, “capitalist” accumulation (we can therefore say that, in doing so, they advance “on tiptoe”).
Moreover, as the second round of the legislative elections in France showed us, a “republican” reflex is always possible even if, as we can see in the aftermath of this somewhat “unnatural” coalition of circumstance, Parliament, the nerve center of a “liberal” type democracy, resembles more a Spanish inn than a political institution where societal issues are “rationally” debated, the common good having to be, at least in principle, at the very heart of even the most frank deliberations.
From there to saying that Mr. Nadeau’s remarks are “alarmist”, there is only one step that I would not take, because there is indeed “something fishy” (or worse, “danger in the house”!). Western democracy (its meaning, its spirit, its letter, its “soul”) is in decline, the populations have lost confidence in the institutions that guaranteed, even if very imperfectly, its legitimacy, its relatively equitable functioning, a certain “probity”.
In the United States, Trump supporters are just waiting for him to give his go-ahead to start a civil war (at least, that’s what they say on social media); imagine another defeat for this lunatic in the next presidential elections in November! In the minds of these “cracked” minds that are his unconditional supporters, this will be further proof (one proof too many?) that there really is a plot led by the Democrats, Barack Obama and Kamala Harris (these “pseudo-Americans”) in the lead, directed against the Republicans and particularly against their “messiah”, Donald Trump.
If the United States were to go up in flames, it would have repercussions all over the planet. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.