Trump fans the hopes of right-wing parties around the globe

Politicians spearheading normalisation of far-right ideas gather for lessons from US host

- Bhagyashree Garekar

NATIONAL HARBOUR, Maryland A mixture of economic discontent and cultural angst is moving politics to the right from North America to Europe and Latin America.

The gains made by Alternative for Germany in the Feb 23 parliamentary elections are the latest example of the shift. Though shut out of joining any coalition government, the party won more than 20 per cent of the vote, doubling its share from the previous polls.

The reasons behind this trend were proudly proclaimed at the recently concluded Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, an hour's drive from the US capital, Washington.

CPAC, an annual meeting of conservative Republicans, this year featured participants from nearly 20 countries, including heads of government from Italy, Poland, Slovakia, North Macedonia and Argentina.

What began in 1974 as a club-like meeting of Americans who prized personal freedom and limited government has transformed into a mini United Nations for politicians with nativist, anti-globalist messages.

CPAC launched its first international franchise in Japan in 2017 before adding Australia, Brazil and South Korea two years later. Hungary, Mexico and Israel joined in 2022. Argentina is the latest to open a local CPAC chapter, after the election of libertarian President Javier Milei in 2023.

"How amazing it is... 13 years ago, I was the only foreign speaker" at CPAC, said Mr Nigel Farage, the leader of the right-wing Reform UK party. He was a key figure in the 2016 Brexit campaign, which led to Britain's exit from the European Union. It was the first flush of victory for right-wing politics.

At this year's conference, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Argentina's President Milei were treated like rock stars as they spearheaded an upfront attempt to normalise far-right ideas, including a disdain for bureaucracy, distrust in institutions and an abiding scepticism over immigration.