The New Faces of the Far-Right- Have Old White Men Gone Out of Style?
by Margaux Baudry, read 3 min
Source: pixabay
Not so long ago, far-right politicians were easy to spot in the wild. They were mostly older, wealthy white men, much like their supporters. But nowadays, as it turns out, diversity is trendy even for far-right parties. We can wave goodbye to typical far-right leaders, as one-size-fits-all is completely out of style. Today, far-right parties are more inclusive than you would expect them to be… Here is the new look of the far-right!
Alice Weidel
“I am not here despite my homosexuality, but because of my homosexuality.”
This is what Alice Weidel famously stated, arguing that Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) is the only party addressing ‘Muslim’ attacks on homosexuals.
At 45 years old, the first female president of Germany's AfD is a somewhat surprising figure within the far-right movement. She shares her home in Switzerland with her Swiss partner, of Sri Lankan origin, and their two sons. This is quite exotic for the president of a party that opposes immigration and same-sex marriage.
Having lived in China, Singapore, and Japan, Weidel speaks Mandarin fluently and has a doctorate in economics from a Chinese university. Yet the AfD’s campaign is built around the idea of “remigration” advocating for the return of immigrants to their countries of origin.
Weidel likes to describe her upbringing as highly political. And by that, we can assume that she’s referring to her grandfather who was a Nazi judge… Hence, she joins AfD in 2013 over her opposition to bailouts during the Eurozone crisis, before the party turned to anti-immigration.
But despite all that, she is still (somehow) considered to be the ‘adult in the room’ amongst her more extremist colleagues. Indeed, she brings a liberal respectability to a party that is suspected to be antidemocratic by the authorities. Weidel seems poised and smart, she is the exemplary, well-mannered bourgeois to represent AfD in this run for Bundestag.
Jordan Bardella
Jordan Bardella, 29 years old and relatively good-looking… voilà the wunderkind of France’s Rassemblement National (National Rally)! Bardella defies the cliché of the far-right. He is the only child of a single mother and grew up in a public housing project (Habitation à Loyer Modéré) outside Paris in Saint-Denis, one of France’s poorest districts.
According to him, it is his younger years that shaped his politics as he was faced with violence and insecurity in a precarious environment. Bardella joins the RN at 16 years old and becomes President of the party at 25, despite having an unusual profile.
His first name, Jordan, clearly signals his modest background as the name was commonly given to children from the working class in the 1990s. On top of that, his last name, Bardella, reflects his family’s immigrant past as he is three-quarters Italian (and even an eighth Algerian!).
However, the ‘self-made man’ narrative is questionable since Bardella’s father -who is purposefully erased from the storytelling- lived in the wealthy Parisian suburb of Val d’Oise. Indeed, Bardella mostly attended Catholic private schools, and, at 19, his father gifted him a Smart car, followed by an apartment in the Val d’Oise at 20.
When we think about it, Bardella is quite perfect. Or at least, the narrative he created for himself is quite perfect. He allows the RN to broaden its range of supporters, increasing his party’s degree of “normality” within the French political landscape.
Is the far-right young, hot and gay?
If far-right parties seem more accessible, inclusive, and even logical, it is partly due to their new representatives. The public is much more likely to vote for someone they identify with. By providing us with representatives who fit our modern standards, voting far-right no longer sounds like such a bad idea. After all, fashion is a cycle, and far-right might just be back in style!
