For Europe’s nationalists and populists, the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House feels like the arrival of the US cavalry over the horizon.
Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, has been accused of undermining his country’s democracy by the European Commission and the Biden administration. He hailed Trump’s victory as a sign that: “History has accelerated . . . The world is going to change.” In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, the leader of the Freedom party, rejoiced that: “Patriots are winning elections all over the world.” In Russia, Alexander Dugin, a pro-Putin ideologue exulted that: “We have won . . . Globalists have lost their final combat.”
Political parties that broadly welcome Trump’s victory are already in powerful positions across Europe. In Austria and the Netherlands, nationalist populists won the largest share of the vote in recent elections. The Alternative for Germany is second in the polls, with a general election looming. In France, the Rassemblement National is getting nearer to national power. Reform in Britain, Law and Justice in Poland and Vox in Spain will all feel empowered by Trump’s victory.