{"id":16828,"date":"2026-05-11T16:18:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T10:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=16828"},"modified":"2026-05-11T16:18:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T10:33:48","slug":"the-right-wing-tsunami-a-signal-of-a-multipolar-world-and-nepals-path-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=16828","title":{"rendered":"The Right Wing Tsunami: A Signal of a Multipolar World and Nepal’s Path Forward<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n# Prem Sagar Poudel<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ruling Labour Party’s devastating defeat in the United Kingdom’s local and regional elections, losing nearly 1,500 seats while Nigel Farage’s Reform UK captured over 1,400, is not merely an electoral outcome. It is but the first wave of a political tsunami, one that signals the overturning of the entire European political landscape. Labour’s crushing defeat, coming less than two years after its landslide victory in July 2024, makes one thing abundantly clear: voters across Europe are now actively seeking alternatives to the old political parties.<\/p>\n

From London to Berlin, from Paris to Rome, a single question echoes. Is this simply a protest vote, or a foreshock of an earthquake set to redefine global politics?<\/p>\n

In Germany, the Alternative f\u00fcr Deutschland (AfD) has surged to a record high, surpassing Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with 28 percent of the vote. In the state of Saxony Anhalt, support for the AfD has touched 41 percent, raising the distinct possibility of it emerging as the single largest party in the regional elections scheduled for September.<\/p>\n

In France, 44 percent of the public now believe that Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is capable of governing. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy has remained in power since 2022. In Austria, the Freedom Party won the national election. In Portugal, the Chega party has undergone a meteoric rise. All these events narrate the same story. For those labouring under the illusion that Europe’s political centre has shifted leftwards, here lies the bitter truth: the continent’s political pole is rapidly being thrust rightwards.<\/p>\n

The first cause is a pervasive disgust with the status quo. As British professor Stephen Coleman has observed, Reform voters perceive the party not as a conventional political entity, but as a movement against “politics as usual.” This is the very same sentiment that propelled Donald Trump to the White House in 2016 and handed Narendra Modi two resounding majorities in India.<\/p>\n

The second cause is immigration. This is no longer merely a question of border security; it has evolved into an issue entwined with the very existence of national identity. With the number of immigrants residing within the European Union having surpassed 64.2 million, and with over 46,000 illegal arrivals recorded in the United Kingdom in 2025 alone, the psychology of the electorate becomes readily comprehensible. It is this psychology that has delivered up to 41 percent support for the AfD in Germany’s eastern states.<\/p>\n

The third cause is economic instability. Germany’s sluggish economy, the decline in living standards in the United Kingdom, and unemployment in France have all combined to erode trust in traditional parties. As Professor Wu Huiping of China’s Tongji University has noted, this is a “protest vote” intended to send a message to the ruling establishment.<\/p>\n

This right wing wave cannot be viewed in isolation from American political influence. Donald Trump’s election to the presidency in 2016 sent a powerful message to right wing forces the world over: the political establishment can be defeated. Trump’s “America First” slogan has inspired everyone from Brexit in the United Kingdom to Meloni in Italy.<\/p>\n

Following his re election for a second term, the Trump administration’s protectionist trade policies, strained relations with NATO allies, and the trade war with China have provided ideological ballast to European right wingers. From Germany’s AfD to France’s National Rally, all have looked upon Trump’s “nationalist internationalism” as their model.<\/p>\n

However, Trump’s prospective visit to China has further laid bare the complexity of this right wing surge. The fact that doors for dialogue are opening between the world’s largest and second largest economies, despite a trade war and strategic rivalry, demonstrates that the tension between nationalism and pragmatism is the defining characteristic of modern global politics.<\/p>\n

Russia has outwardly observed the European right wing wave in silence. Yet inwardly, it has derived two strategic advantages from it.<\/p>\n

First, the internal fragmentation of the European Union has granted Russia diplomatic space. While major European powers such as Germany, France, and Italy are consumed by internal political polarisation, Russia has seized the opportunity to consolidate its strategic position in the Ukraine war.<\/p>\n

Second, many European right wing parties openly favour improving ties with Moscow. France’s National Rally, Hungary’s Fidesz, and Austria’s Freedom Party have consistently opposed sanctions against Russia. If these forces achieve further success in forthcoming elections, there exists a real possibility of a significant shift in the European Union’s Russia policy.<\/p>\n

India is the Asian laboratory of this right wing wave. Since 2014, under Narendra Modi’s leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not only transformed Hindutva nationalism into mainstream politics but has also crafted a successful electoral model by fusing it with the slogans of economic development and national security.<\/p>\n

The parallels between India and Europe are striking. In both places, traditional centrist parties are weakening. The issues of immigration and national identity occupy centre stage, and religio cultural nationalism is rising as a new political force. India’s experience teaches Europe one crucial lesson: once right wing nationalism attains power, it does not easily recede; rather, it proceeds to institutionalise itself.<\/p>\n

In the context of China, India’s rightward turn has sharpened the competition between the two nations. From border disputes to the Indo Pacific strategy, Modi’s India has pursued a policy of drawing closer to the US led coalition in order to challenge China. In Europe too, one cannot dismiss the possibility that the right wing narrative of the “China threat” may compel the European Union to reassess its economic ties with Beijing.<\/p>\n

For China, the European right wing wave is a double edged sword. On one hand, the protectionist and anti China rhetoric of right wing forces has the potential to challenge China’s trade interests. On the other, the internal divisions within the European Union and its tensions with the United States may yield strategic advantages for China.<\/p>\n

China appears to have adopted two strategic approaches to navigate this situation. The first is to deepen economic interdependence. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China seeks to render its infrastructure and trade ties with Europe so robust that no right wing government can sever them. The second is enhanced activism in multilateral fora. From the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to BRICS, China is striving to lead the construction of an alternative world order.<\/p>\n

In my analysis, this European right wing wave offers three vital lessons for Nepal.<\/p>\n

First, a balanced foreign policy. Nepal is a nation that struggles to maintain sovereign equilibrium between its two giant neighbours, China and India. Europe’s experience demonstrates that when countries become trapped in internal political polarisation, the risk of their foreign policy becoming lopsided intensifies. Nepal must further reinforce its non aligned foreign policy and maintain balanced relations with China, India, the United States, and Russia.<\/p>\n

Second, economic self reliance. The principal reason European voters are rejecting traditional parties is economic insecurity. Nepal, too, must overcome the limitations of its remittance dependent economy by building a productive and employment generating economic base. China’s BRI, India’s development assistance, and America’s MCC must all be utilised in a balanced manner, firmly aligned with the national interest.<\/p>\n

Third, the defence of national identity. As pressing as the issues of immigration and national identity are in Europe, the challenges of an open and unmanaged border and geopolitical pressure are equally grave for Nepal. Nepal must formulate a clear national policy to safeguard its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and cultural identity.<\/p>\n

This European right wing wave is not merely an electoral fluctuation. It is a sign that the very foundations of the liberal international order erected after the Second World War are beginning to tremble. Trumpism in America, right wing nationalism in Europe, Hindutva politics in India, and the Ukraine war waged by Russia are all different facets of the same coin, heralding the advent of a new era of a multipolar world.<\/p>\n

In this era, China stands as a force of stability, one that is advancing a vision of an alternative world order. A small country like Nepal must not delay in identifying its place within this transforming global order. Sovereignty, economic self reliance, and diplomatic equilibrium, these three pillars are the guarantee of Nepal’s future.<\/p>\n

The tremors of the earthquake of change now reverberating across Europe shall one day reach the lap of the Himalayas. Preparations must begin today.<\/p>\n

Author: Prem Sagar Poudel is a senior journalist and international relations analyst from Nepal. He has studied Nepal-China relations, the geopolitics of the Himalayan region, and Asian security issues in depth.<\/em><\/p>\n

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