Public support for the far right has swept across the European continent in recent years ̶ as it has in the USA and Argentina ̶ fuelling a sense that right-wing extremism is gaining momentum and expanding beyond its traditional core vote. Donald Trump's victory and his vigorous assertion of Far-Right policies in the USA have emboldened would-be Trumpians in the EU. Little does it matter to them that Trump is punishing Europe in every which way he can.
This trend is mirrored in the European Parliament, where the two main Far-Right blocs have increased their share to about a quarter of the seats. Russia is the issue where the difference between the two groupings is stark. The last four years have been replete with victories for politicians supportive of Vladimir Putin in Europe. The phenomenon is mainly a feature of Far-Right politics.
The Far Right's voice has been amplified, ironically, by centrist and conservative parties. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, who is affiliated with the European People's Party, assiduously courted the right in her bid to remain in power. Now she realises that she has to deal with the Far Right's increased pro-Putin leanings, undermining her own defence and security priorities.
Far-Right parties tend not to be committed to upholding the institutions of democracy, especially if they are seen as obstacles to enacting conservative policies, such as tougher immigration laws or curtailing LGBTQ+ rights. Russia's stance on "traditional" family values, which typically include men taking leadership positions and women staying at home to look after children, resonates with Far-Right parties.
Malta has so far bucked the trend towards Far-Right policies. Although we do not have a Far-Right party in Parliament, this has been achieved by the two main political parties tacking to the right and buying into some of the Far Right's policies that resonate with people. We see this in the approach to fears about Malta's indigenous population and its traditions and culture being swamped by foreigners.
The PN has often teetered towards xenophobic tendencies in attacking the Labour government's policy of importing workers to support the growing economy. On the other hand, Labour has had to be dragged towards enforcing the rights of immigrant workers, fearing that doing so would antagonise many of its own supporters, who are as prominent in racism and xenophobia as those on the Far Right.
Successive surveys have indicated that between 14-19% of Maltese see immigration as their top concern. Other reports suggest a larger percentage, closer to one in five, believing Malta is being "invaded" by migrants. A significant portion of Labour voters (18.3%) list immigration as a major concern, while almost 19% of residents in the south of Malta ̶ a traditional Labour stronghold ̶ express similar worries.
The influence of the Far-Right narrative is evident from the fact that a significant percentage (16%) expresses concerns about potential criminal behaviour among migrants. Marsa and Ħamrun are often mentioned as hotbeds of criminality due to the presence of immigrants. Again, the Far-Right tale of immigrants taking the Maltese people's jobs often pops up, even though it is complete poppycock given the full employment economy and the transition of low-paid unskilled Maltese workers to better-paid jobs.
In 2012, The Malta Independent reported that a majority of Maltese disagreed that high levels of immigration were threatening their way of life. Just over half of the respondents in a survey believed that too many refugees and migrants were coming to their locality. In spite of this, the percentage of those who felt their way of life was being threatened by high levels of immigration, was less than 42%.
That was when the migration debate was dominated by boat arrivals of people escaping from civil wars on the African continent. Now that irregular migrants are not so prominent, the debate has shifted towards immigration of third-country nationals. Their number is markedly more noticeable at around 70,000, of whom the majority hail from India, the Philippines, and Nepal. But some even look askance at the 35,000 who come from other European countries.
Migration was the second-most important issue of concern to Maltese citizens, cited by 20% of them in the standard Eurobarometer survey last spring. The GWU has often hit out at racist attitudes towards TCNs in Malta. Just under half of the population believe that the Maltese are racist, according to a survey conducted by Dr Vincent Marmara for Popolin. One in four would feel uncomfortable if the PM were of a dark skin.
The social media are the main arena where racist and xenophobic people vent their hate speech targeting individuals from certain ethnic and racial backgrounds. While most of these attacks are not necessarily organised or widespread, they highlight a potential for intolerance and prejudice. The weakened checks by Google and other social media have created space for extremist viewpoints to gain traction.
One factor that has prevented xenophobic tendencies from entering mainstream politics is the electoral system, which has so far meant that the fragmented right-wing vote has not translated into parliamentary representation. In the 2022 general election, the Partit Popolari could only garner 1,530 votes, its best district result being 154 votes. The Moviment Patrijotti Maltin, which competed with the more extreme Norman Lowell (a self-avowed admirer of the genocidal Adolf Hitler) could only garner 910 votes in the 2019 election and then disappeared from the scene. Norman Lowell's Imperium got its best result in the 2019 general election with 8,240 votes, but only managed to get 6,670 votes in the 2024 EP election.
Another reason for the Far Right's failure to make a breakthrough is that it is mainly a single-issue movement. While many Maltese are concerned about immigration, the problems it has brought are still not serious enough to convince them to vote for small parties which have nothing significant to say about more serious issues, such as the cost of living or the environment. The lack of a charismatic leader and the absence of district-level political machinery undoubtedly do not help.
Although Malta is facing growing social inequalities and problems such as housing affordability, its welfare system remains intact because the economy keeps growing by a high rate, thanks in no small measure to the contribution of thousands of foreigners. This may explain why concern about immigration in Malta is offset by a grudging awareness that the influx is beneficial to the people's financial well-being.
Foreign workers are often depicted in official propaganda as accessories to economic growth. Often, they are then treated like second-class people, reflecting an ingrained non-socialist tendency to consider them as a sort of necessary evil for the Maltese xenophobe. I find this offensive, though I must admit that it may well explain the success in selling the model of accelerated economic growth and arresting the rise of the far right.
'It's the economy, stupid' still has the potential to consign certain concerns to the sidelines. The question is, what happens if economic growth ever were to stall.