Which of Europe's anti-immigration parties are the most extreme?

"The rise of anti-immigration parties in Europe shows that the far-right doesn't have to be in power to push its agenda and influence policy making. The Local's Conor Faulkner takes a look around the far-right parties shaping debate across the continent and looks at which party is the most extremist. In post-war Europe political consensus kept radical forces away from state power. In Germany it became known as brandmauer the firewall."

"In 2025, however, the far-right rules in Hungary and Italy. It has featured in coalitions in Sweden, Austria, and Holland, and could soon govern in France, the UK, Germany, and Spain, if the latest opinion polls are anything to go by. That there has been a wave of anti-immigration parties in Europe is undeniable but who are these parties and what do they want? In times of polarisation, it's easy to view far-right parties as a monolith."

"Marta Lorimer, Lecturer in Politics at Cardiff University, tells The Local that there is variation between these parties, though she adds that it is variations of extreme we are talking about, not a scale from moderate to extreme. In France throughout the turmoil that has toppled successive governments under the ever unpopular President Emmanuel Macron, the RN has loomed large in the polls."

Far-right and anti-immigration parties across Europe have increased influence and can shape policy without necessarily holding full state power. Post-war political arrangements erected barriers such as Germany's brandmauer and France's cordon sanitaire to keep radical forces from governing. By 2025 the far-right governs in Hungary and Italy, has joined coalitions in Sweden, Austria, and the Netherlands, and is electorally competitive in France, the UK, Germany, and Spain. Party positions vary, but differences are variations of extreme rather than a trajectory from moderate to extreme. France's Rassemblement National polls strongly and has achieved parliamentary success, while the presidential two-round system still requires a majority at runoff.

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