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Europe’s far-right politicians have begun to distance themselves from Donald Trump following the Democrats’ victory in the US midterm elections – but have mostly avoided directly criticising the president himself.
The realignment is notable as many of the leaders celebrated their ideological ties with Trump following his victory in 2024, with some of them visiting Washington DC since then and receiving backing from his billionaire ally Elon Musk.
Protesters wearing masks of Elon Musk, far-right German politician Alice Weidel and Donald Trump in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. AP
Jordan Bardella, leader of France’s National Rally, which most polls suggest could form the next government, typified the political shift.
Trump’s second term was less isolationist than his first from 2017 to 2021, Bardella said. “American intervention regarding Iran carries very heavy consequences” for economies around the world, he added, without mentioning Trump as being behind that intervention.
In Germany, Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, also attributed the loss to the Iran war. “Trump had promised his voters not to pursue an interventionist foreign policy ... This broken promise has now come back to haunt the Republicans,” she told news outlet T-Online.
Trump acknowledged the war with Iran had played a role in his party’s losses but said he stood by his decision.
