‘Vicious cycle’: far-right parties across Europe are inspiring imitators

Hardline agendas, especially on immigration, are copied by mainstream conservatives in vain effort to win back votes

Far-right parties could become the largest force on the right in Europe within a decade, experts have said, as mainstream conservative parties look to copy their hardline agendas, especially on immigration, in a vain effort to win back votes.

Germany's conservatives last week sparked fury when their leader, Friedrich Merz, the country's likely next chancellor, broke a longstanding pledge by relying on far-right votes to adopt a non-binding motion urging a drastic immigration crackdown. The leader of Alternative fur Deutschland, Alice Weidel, hailed a historic day for Germany" as the Bundestag, for the first time in its history, passed a vote with the backing of her party, which is second in the polls weeks before this month's elections.