At the start of his second term President Trump has positioned himself at the crest of a global wave of hard-line conservative populism, offering fuel and inspiration to surging nationalist parties in the European Union and beyond.
Those parties are generally united by tough stances against immigrants, support for what they call “traditional” values in opposition to L.G.B.T. rights, aversion to climate regulations and pugnacious critiques of establishment politicians and parties.
To varying degrees, some, though not all, have also sought to weaken or undermine existing institutions, such as courts or an independent media, in what critics have called efforts to erode democracy and maintain authoritarian grips on power.
It is a wide spectrum that includes the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which is trying to broaden its appeal before elections next month but still winks at Nazi slogans; the Brothers of Italy, which grew from post-Fascism but has moderated after it won power; the National Rally, which has more lawmakers than ever in France after a prolonged attempt to soften its image; and the Freedom Party of Austria, which was founded by former Nazi soldiers decades ago and embraced a combative image en route to winning elections last fall.
But the parties differ from one another, and from Mr. Trump, in critical ways. Rhetorically, Mr. Trump falls at a far end of the spectrum of right-wing politicians and parties that have not been shy about using openly racist or incendiary language to disparage immigrants and political opponents.
In some cases, like his calls to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, Mr. Trump has promised changes that many of his most adoring fans in Europe have stopped well short of.
Giorgia Meloni, for instance, has dialed back many of her more hard-line stances since becoming prime minister of Italy. In some ways, Ms. Meloni has provided a road map for hard-right leaders seeking to win and hold power in Europe: Talk a fiery game, but tack to the center on some issues — most notably support for Ukraine.
Mr. Trump may be providing a competing one, less apologetic and more emphatic. Experts say even Ms. Meloni, who attended Mr. Trump’s inauguration, and right-wing parties in Europe, might be tempted to follow it.
“The barriers are coming down,” said Nathalie Tocci, a leading Italian political scientist.
Here is how the European Union’s main conservative populist parties compare with each other, and with Mr. Trump, on key issues:
Divides over Ukraine
Mr. Trump has vowed to immediately bring an end to the war, though it is unclear how he plans to do so. In Europe, support for Ukraine has divided right-wing parties, with those adopting ambiguous or pro-Russian positions being pushed toward the margins.
Many of them look to post-Soviet Russia as a bastion of traditional values, but the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has dimmed its allure, at least for some.
“There are differences,” between Ms. Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party and other forces such as Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary’s Fidesz party, said Carlo Fidanza, the head of Ms. Meloni’s delegation in the European Parliament. “The main one is Ukraine.”
Ms. Meloni has positioned herself as a strong backer of Ukraine, along with most of Italy’s E.U. allies. She has said it would be a “mistake” to abandon Ukraine.
In Hungary, however, the Fidesz party is stridently opposed to all military aid for Ukraine and to European sanctions on Russia over the war, which it blames for Hungary’s high inflation rate and generally poor economic performance. (Hungary has long depended on relatively cheap Russian energy.)
Mr. Orban has met with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia twice since the invasion began, presenting himself as a “peacemaker” and denouncing Hungary’s E.U. and NATO allies as warmongers.
The war has ruptured previously close ties between Mr. Orban and Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice party, or PiS, which was in power in February 2022 when Russia invaded.
But other leaders on the extreme right are closer to Mr. Orban’s camp. Herbert Kickl, the man poised to be Austria’s next chancellor, and his Freedom Party have built ties to Moscow and criticized European involvement in Ukraine.
Alice Weidel, the chancellor candidate for the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which has its strongest support in eastern Germany where affinity for Russia is strong, has accused German leaders of a “very dangerous” escalation of the conflict by supporting Ukraine.
In France, the National Rally in 2014 took a 9.4 million euro loan, then worth $12.2 million, from a Russian bank, and Marine Le Pen, the party’s longtime leader, once said she “admired” Mr. Putin.
But since Russia’s invasion, which the National Rally and its top officials have condemned, the party has sought to reposition itself — if only slightly.
The National Rally does not oppose sending Ukraine defensive equipment. But it strenuously objects to providing the Ukrainians with offensive weapons.
It has also repeatedly opposed some of the sanctions on Russian imports — especially energy — and it has rejected the possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union or NATO.
Some Soften the Talk
Many of Europe’s farthest-right parties share Mr. Trump’s abrasive rhetoric, disparaging their enemies and portraying themselves as outsiders and victims.
Over the years, Ms. Meloni had denounced what she called the ethnic replacement of Italians by immigrants and called for a naval blockade against illegal migrants.
Since taking office, she has toned down her tirades. While Mr. Trump on Monday decried an “invasion” of the United States by immigrants, Ms. Meloni has largely stopped using that word.
Still, she has continued to use polarizing language to portray her party as outsiders and underdogs, and to direct vitriolic attacks on the left, journalists, trade unionists, judges and the billionaire liberal donor George Soros. She has also continued to oppose gay parenthood and the teaching of gender theory in schools.
The National Rally in France has attempted to distance itself from the racist, antisemitic and anti-gay outbursts of its founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died this month. His daughter Marine has attempted to shift the party’s focus more toward pocketbook issues as part of a protracted effort to undemonize it.
The shift has helped the party make strides in elections, even as many experts have characterized it as mere marketing. The party’s unrelenting focus on protecting French identity and its eagerness to change the French Constitution to restrict the rights of foreigners still mark it in France as a far-right party, experts say.
In Germany, where voters will pick a new government in late February, the Alternative for Germany party is attempting to soften its image, too. It has chosen Ms. Weidel — a lesbian economist who lives in Switzerland with her Sri Lankan partner and children — as its standard-bearer in the race.
She and the party are attempting to appeal to a broader audience, aided in part by the billionaire Elon Musk, who has endorsed the AfD. But they are saying very different things to different audiences.
Parts of the AfD have been formally classified as extremist by the German government. But Ms. Weidel told Mr. Musk in a recent friendly interview that the AfD was “a conservative libertarian party.”
Just days later, AfD party members greeted Ms. Weidel with repeated chants of “Alice for Germany,” a play on the old Nazi refrain “Everything for Germany,” which is now a crime to use in Germany.
Some parties have not softened their tone at all. In Austria, the Freedom Party gained ground in recent elections after intensifying confrontational language critical of immigrants and Islam.
Party members have reveled in slogans with Nazi echoes, including Mr. Kickl. The Freedom Party campaigned on a promise that Mr. Kickl would be a “Volkskanzler” — “people’s chancellor” — a term used by Hitler.
Nuances on Immigration
Mr. Trump has promised to deport every one of the millions of immigrants who remain in the United States illegally. While immigration is at the center of all of these parties’ agendas in Europe, they have different ideas on how to address it.
The AfD has pledged to deport some recent migrants to Germany who commit crimes, but not others who learn German or otherwise assimilate.
Fidesz in Hungary has denounced migrants as a threat to public health and potential terrorists.
Ms. Meloni has said she only opposes illegal immigration, and acknowledged the need for legal immigration. She has introduced a much-contested plan to transfer asylum seekers to centers in Albania while their cases are heard, and supported legislation to distribute migrants from border countries where they first arrive (like Italy and Greece) to other European Union nations.
Other nationalist leaders in countries farther from the coast opposed the idea.
In France, the National Rally wants to reduce immigration drastically, eliminate birthright citizenship, force people seeking asylum to apply abroad, and privilege French people over even legal migrants for social benefits and subsidized housing.
The party argues that reducing immigration is necessary to free up funding for other areas like health care and to protect French identity.
Jim Tankersley reported from Berlin, Emma Bubola from Rome, Andrew Higgins from Warsaw, and Aurelien Breeden from Paris.
