Things are quickly reaching a boiling point in the European ruling Left versus rising right-wing political wars as the angst about upcoming European Union elections reaches a fever pitch.

German Greens especially, but progressives across the EU have been throwing shade at populist parties for months now, as regional after regional election falls to rising 'right-wing' candidates and so-called "farmers" parties. Nothing is as scary to a progressive enamored of the power they wield as the thought of some knuckle-dragging, earth-working, common plebe taking it away.

The warnings were already flying in the media in January.

OPINION: Germany faces a hellish year in politics amid rise of far-right https://t.co/fFysVFU6Ij

— The Local Germany (@TheLocalGermany) January 7, 2024

The seismic shock of Geert Wilders' victory in the Dutch elections last fall was only intensified by his recently being able to form a government - sans his being Prime Minister as part of the agreement - in spite of every effort to torpedo and sink the negotiations to put together a coalition. Even more terrifying is the implied threat that Wilders and company mean to govern as they were elected to.

...No doubt pinching themselves, the Dutch are realizing "It's true." The coalition partners have released their united goals in a document called, "Hope, Guts and Pride."

I've excerpted some here (many more categories, each has many more entries):

...Given the title Hoop, lef en trots (hope, guts, and pride) the document is supposed to pave the way for ministers to flesh out actual policy and how the new strategy will be implemented. Nevertheless, it contains a string of detailed plans covering 10 key areas including immigration, the economy, public safety and boosting individual financial security. 

“Whether we are talking about feeling secure about the future, healthcare, money in your pocket or the availability of sufficient housing, we have big ambitions,” the four parties say in the introduction. “We also want to reverse the much too high influx of refugees and immigrants. We want farmers, market gardeners and fishermen to have a future again.

This morning Politico.eu was raising the alarm, helpfully providing a color-coded map to emphasize how the forces of the 'hard-right' parties had thoroughly infiltrated the formerly Halcyon haven of the EU.

BE AFRAID - BE VERY AFRAID

The longstanding effort to keep extremist forces out of government in Europe is officially over.

For decades, political parties of all kinds joined forces to keep the hard-right far from the levers of power. Today, this strategy — known in France as a cordon sanitaire (or firewall) — is falling apart, as populist and nationalist parties grow in strength across the Continent.

Five EU countries — Italy, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic — have hard-right parties in government. In Sweden, the survival of the executive relies on a confidence and supply agreement with the nationalist Sweden Democrats, the second-largest force in parliament. In the Netherlands, the anti-Islamic firebrand Geert Wilders is on the verge of power, having sealed a historic deal to form the most right-wing government in recent Dutch history.

"Extremist." Everyone who doesn't agree with me is an extremist/hard-right/NeoNazi. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's kind of interesting how they define "hard-right," too. They specify groups on the "furthest right of the political spectrum," implying that's a bad and dangerous thing with the tone of the article. At no time do they give any thought to why some of these parties may have become popular. Their only object is vilification and more scare tactics.

It's a boogeyman map in orange and purple, in shades of Putin and Xi.

And the vitriol is orchestrated from the literal very top. All von der Leyen needed here was red lights and Reich-style flags hung behind her like someone else we know.

Unelected EU head Ursula von der Leyen is worried that anti-globalist "populists and nationalists" are set to triumph in the upcoming EU elections, as a growing tide of anti-EU sentiment sweeps across Europe, in response to the EU's open-door immigration policies, war on farmers… pic.twitter.com/OE9qnRnhAS

— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) March 11, 2024

"Here at home, Putin's friends are trying to rewrite our history and hijack our future. They are spreading hate from behind their keyboards. And let there be no doubt what's at stake in these elections. Our peaceful and united Europe is being challenged like never before by populists, by nationalists, by demagogues, whether it's the far right or it's the far left."

Yes, little farmer mad about losing your farm or older couple in Munich freezing through the winter - you are tools of Putin for being angry.

We must be clear-eyed:

Rassemblement national, AfD, Konfederacja…

Different names - but all the same.

They are Putin's puppets and proxies and they are trampling on our values.

We will not let them destroy what we have built together. pic.twitter.com/nqxR3mzKKr

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen_epp) May 23, 2024

The gaslighting from politicians and media alike has helped propel violent physical attacks on populist and right-wing MEPs (Member of European Parliament), although I'm sure that wasn't the intention...*winkwinknudgenudgesaynomore* It never is. They just sorta happen.

A left-wing extremist is being investigated in Germany on suspicion of grievous bodily harm after a state lawmaker for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was attacked with a glass ashtray in the northern German city of Schwerin.

...The politician suffered a laceration to the head and was given first aid by emergency responders before being transported to the hospital in an ambulance for further treatment. He required multiple stitches to stem the heavy flow of blood.

The German government, comprised of individuals who uniformly resemble the most calculating and coldblooded Bond villains, has no problem using the powers they still hold in their claws to beat back any opposition threatening their status. It's all under the guise of protecting democracy by preventing "disinformation."

Heard that before, have you?

MORE - The left-green-liberal government in Germany is also planning a "democracy promotion law" to combat "hate speech." Faeser comments: "Those who mock the state must be dealt with by a strong state."

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) February 13, 2024

The far right-wing AfD (Alternative for Germany) party has been a particular target of attacks and scrutiny - even so far as earning themselves state surveillance thanks to its unabashed opposition to Eurocentrism and unfettered immigration. And they have been gaining support no matter what anyone throws at them.

This is crazy. German right-wing anti-immigration party AfD has lost a court case against a domestic German intelligence agency and can now be legally spied on despite being Germany’s second most popular party.

The Court basically ruled that being anti-immigration is inherently… pic.twitter.com/Xb7Ts44Da8

— William McGimpsey (@TheZeitgeistNZ) May 14, 2024

They also have a set of real nasties - you could safely color them NeoNazis - in their ranks, which makes it easy to bang away. The latest uproar happened yesterday when the AfD party head responded to an obvious gotcha interview question that there had been coerced members of the Waffen SS.

Top AfD candidate for European Parliament, Maximilian Krah, faces backlash from European “right” after remarking, “I will never say that everyone who wore an SS uniform was automatically a criminal.”

France’s National Assembly leader Marine Le Pen has condemned Germany’s AfD for… pic.twitter.com/CEqR9W2dWv

— AF Post (@AFpost) May 24, 2024

For AfD's coalition allies in Brussels, the Bureau of the Identity and Democracy Group - Marine Pen's party is a member among other right-wing groups - Maximilian Krah's statement was the excuse they'd been looking for to boot him and his party. They threw the penalty flag on that one, kicked the AfD MEPs out of their coalition, and sent them to the Parliament showers.

Far-right group at European Parliament expels Germany’s AfD over Nazi comments

Germany's AfD party was expelled Thursday from its far-right group within the European Parliament after a series of scandals involving lawmaker Maximilian Krah, two weeks ahead of EU-wide elections.

...But fellow members have moved to distance themselves from AfD, as the party battles a string of scandals just over two weeks before a vote in which the far-right has been riding high in the polls.

"The Bureau of the Identity and Democracy Group in the European Parliament has decided today to exclude the German delegation, AfD, with immediate effect," said a statement posted online by ID. 

..."The ID Group no longer wants to be associated with the incidents involving Maximilian Krah, head of the AfD list for the European elections."

The way polling is going in Germany, it doesn't look as if that will have much effect, though, for all the smelling salts and hankie-waving. AfD had 11 seats in the EU Parliament and right now it's on track to raise that total to 15 or 16.

Why do they do they keep growing in appeal? For one, life under the Social Democrats and particularly the Greens has sucked. As our son who just left Germany after 3 years told me when I asked him if AfD could be characterized as a NeoNazi party:

The ones that "aren't" are kinda like the "Brothers of Italy" Meloni leads in Italy. They've absolutely got an agenda, they just hide it better than the outliers.

But if you were to canvas the neo-nazis, you know exactly who they're voting for.

Functional issue is that the other parties are so erratic on immigration it's driving votes that way, which makes it look like they're not a bunch of goose steppers. Yeah, it's basically becoming do you want Nazis or Capt Planet who will turn your ass into a tree while your family starves.

Brussels is very much in flux at the moment, and its globalist/climate cult agenda is on hold, if not in some peril. 7 June is its official Election Day for the Parliament, and it will be very interesting to see if these populist gains across the continent stall or surge.

In Germany, will the backlash against AfD have any effect or will it make people angry and give them even more seats?

I hope the EU elites get their asterisks handed to them, but that's just me.

Two weeks will tell.