The Retreat of the 'German PP' on Immigration, or Why the New Right is Rising

One of the reasons for the rise of parties like Vox and AfD is the disaffection of voters toward center-right formations. In the midst of a migration and security crisis, citizens see the traditional right as part of the problem. In that sense, they tend to identify parties like CDU and PP with SPD and PSOE, that is, as structures serving the same interests.

In Spain, Alberto Núñez Feijóo's PP is very critical of PSOE's migration policy. At the same time, however, it votes in favor of the procedure to regularize half a million illegal immigrants in Spain.

In Germany, CDU leader Friedrich Merz promised during the electoral campaign that he would close borders. But the day after winning the elections, he said that "nobody talked about closing borders."

CDU and PP reflect the inconsistency of a center-right trapped in a difficult position. On the one hand, their need to shift to ultraconservatism to counter the threat of the new right. On the other hand, their inability to break with the establishment that keeps them tied hand and foot.

This is why many voters see Merz and Feijóo as representatives of the same interests defended by SPD and PSOE. They are servants of the same European elite whose policies have led Europe to disaster.

The Mirage of the Center-Right

Friedrich Merz's retraction is especially surprising because he represented the CDU wing most skewed to the right. He was a detractor of Angela Merkel and had an especially tough stance on immigration and security. This is what has led many Germans to finally opt for CDU instead of AfD.

But once he achieved his goal of taking votes from the far right, Merz has once again shown that above all are the interests of the elite. In fact, Brussels has urged Merz to form a government as soon as possible. He has ruled out an ultraconservative alliance representing 50% of Germans, choosing instead a coalition with the worst SPD.

The echoes of Germany reach Spain, where Feijóo persistently tries to distance himself from Vox. A majority of Spaniards are calling for a PP-Vox alliance as an alternative to "Sanchism." Despite that, Feijóo continues to push for a centrist coalition with PSOE.

One only has to look back at the last investiture debate, where Feijóo presented a series of social-democratic proposals to win PSOE's support. But the strategy of both CDU and PP only serves to give votes to the radical right.

The Only Alternative

With AfD unleashed in the polls, Merz got scared. He promised permanent control of the Schengen borders, rejection at the border of asylum seekers from other EU countries, and the detention of people required to leave the country.

"Let it be clear," he said just after winning the elections, "nobody has talked about a border closure." First, he got scared with the rise of the new right, and now he is scared with the establishment. This all boosts the new right further.

The CDU's pact with SPD ties Friedrich Merz's hands and feet to make a radical turn as German citizens demanded at the polls. The same happened in France with the unnatural front of Macronism and the extreme left. And the same could happen in Spain if the Grand Coalition between PP and PSOE ends up taking shape.

All this has consolidated Le Pen in France, AfD in Germany, and Vox in Spain as the only anti-establishment alternative.