National

Polls show European politicians with anti-immigrant message remain as popular as ever

BUDAPEST, Hungary – En route to winning a fourth term this year, Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that migration would harm Hungary's largely homogeneous nation, proclaiming "countries that don't stop immigration will be lost."

It resonated with voters, who delivered his Fidesz party and its conservative coalition partner an absolute majority in the nation's parliament.

Across the European Union, right-wing anti-immigrant leaders have won over voters who, like their counterparts in America, were drawn to a populist and blunt-talking politician.

In Austria, a far-right government unexpectedly swept to power in last year’s election on promises to rein in immigration and preserve the cultural traditions of the "homeland." Other politicians with similar messages emerged victorious in this year's elections in Slovenia and Italy.

A series of recent polls has only reaffirmed how European voters are enthusiastically supporting strongman leaders even as they hold dear their country’s long-standing democratic ideals.

In Hungary, home to nearly 10 million people, about the population of the state of Georgia, Orban has been the source of intense criticism from those who say he is undermining the judiciary, compromising press freedoms and demonizing refugees. Yet, most Hungarians were happy to re-elect the 55-year-old man to power.

“Someone strong has a greater ability to ensure our interests,” said Vilmos Nagy, 40, a grad student of political science at Corvinus University of Budapest.

Respondents in a recent survey of voters in the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary – most of which already have strong right-wing governments – showed they saw no contradiction in electing a dictatorial leader.

In Hungary, for example, 88 percent of those surveyed said it's important to have a "strong man" leading the nation. At the same time, over 90 percent of people in all five countries surveyed said that an independent judiciary, a pillar of democracies around the world, is important.

Even in Germany, often considered the European nation most resistant to populist forces and charismatic leaders because of its Nazi past, the right-wing, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party entered parliament for the first time in 2017 with 12.6 percent of the vote – making it the nation's largest opposition party.

Polls do show a certain level of disenchantment with their democracies. A Rasmussen Global survey, published in June, of 125,000 people across 50 countries revealed that more than two-thirds living in democracies believed their governments either rarely or never act in the public interest.

The reaction is partly attributed to Europe's refugee crisis in 2015, which served as the "tipping point" for the electoral success of many parties in these countries with such leaders at their helm, said Olaf Boehnke, a senior adviser with Rasmussen Global, a Brussels-based think tank.

Though immigration to Europe served as the springboard for these parties to gain a foothold in established democracies, failures of more mainstream parties to address the concerns of the public also led to their rise, Boehnke said.

"The one thing that's most important is that you have to take the concerns of people seriously, even if reality is different from what people perceive," he said. "Politicians shouldn't try to cover up the deficits and the imperfections of democracy."

But make no mistake, strongmen in many Eastern and Central European countries have gamed their systems, said Boehnke, who noted they “understand where the weak spots are that they can use to increase power.”

U.S. President Donald Trump repeated his anti-immigrant message during his trip to Europe last week.

At a news conference Friday with British Prime Minster Theresa May, Trump said European immigration policies are changing the “fabric of Europe” and destroying European culture. He added that accepting migrants from Middle Eastern and African countries is “a very negative thing for Europe.”

Standing next to May at Chequers, the prime minister’s official country estate, Trump acknowledged the remarks were “politically not necessarily correct.” But he said European countries need to “watch themselves.”

“You are changing culture, you are changing a lot of things,” he said, adding, “You see the same terror attacks that I do.”

In Hungary, Orban has been accused by global watchdogs of weakening the nation's judiciary and free press. A recent piece of legislation also heavily taxed civil society organizations that work with refugees.

Hungarian music composer Attila Szervac, 44, doesn't like the trend.

“The government projects false problems to the destitute masses, such as inciting hatred toward foreigners,” he said. “This is targeted against a few hundred miserable refugees coming from various war zones. It is claimed that the efforts made to integrate them are the main reason 40 percent of the Hungarian population lives in deep poverty.”

Despite the widespread appeal of such leaders, European voters very much prize their democratic freedoms.

According to the Austrian Society for European Policy survey, more than 90 percent of all those in the five Eastern and Central European countries polled believe democracy and human rights are important.

It’s a positive response, according to Boehnke, who said citizen apathy for democracy poses the biggest threat to democracy.

"Populists tend to hijack the rules," he said. "At some point, society has to acknowledge that if you want to live in a system and keep your rights, do something."

Davis reported from Berlin. Contributing: The Associated Press.