“The parties of France, Germany, and Italy have historically defended the traditional family model and gender roles, and that reject feminism.
However, three of the main far-right groups in Europe, traditionally male strongholds, are led by women.
And not only that: since they took over, their parties have experienced exponential growth, achieving historic results in recent years, becoming one of the leading political forces in countries like Germany and France and rising to power in Italy.
Giorgia Meloni (1977) is undoubtedly one of the most visible faces of the European far right and has gone the furthest. The Italian Prime Minister's party, Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy), has revived the slogan popularized by Benito Mussolini, "God, country, family," and she has described herself thus at numerous rallies: ‘I am Giorgia, I am a woman, I am a mother, I am a Christian, and you can't take that away from me.’
In France, Marine Le Pen (born 1968) can be considered the pioneer of women leading the European far right. Heir to the party founded by her father, she has managed, through a "de-demonization" maneuver that has taken years, to broaden the party's base to become the most popular in France.
The latest to join the club of European far-right leaders is German Alice Weidel (1979), who heads the Alternative for Germany (AfD). Under her leadership, the party became the second-largest political force in the country in the elections held on Sunday, February 23.
Not so long ago, however, European far-right parties were almost exclusively the preserve of men.
Many of these European political parties began to emerge in the 1980s, and academic studies analyzing them in that decade and later confirm a very marked gender gap.
This welfare state, which favors, for example, childcare assistance so women can enter the workforce, has fostered the presence of more women at the forefront of European politics, not just on the far right, says Mabel M. Berezin, professor of sociology and director of the Institute of European Studies at Cornell University in California.
‘These are the benefits of the European system in contrast to that of, for example, the United States. They are more gender-equal societies, regardless of their more conservative social leanings,’ the American researcher analyzes.
This explains why, if the system favors more women participating in politics, there will also be more women on the far right, ‘where, without a doubt, they have had to break through a glass ceiling,’ says Berezin.
The researcher highlights that, for example, Weidel was a director at Goldman Sachs and Le Pen is a lawyer by training, making them well-educated and competent women…
At the same time, all three project an image of strength, appearing assertive and confident. ‘I think of Meloni, for example, who gives an almost masculine impression, of having had to fight her way into politics,’ notes Mabel Berezin…
Does this mean they defend feminism?
No, at least not intellectual or official feminism, notes the Cornell University professor.
‘I doubt any of them would define themselves as feminists, although they do, in some ways, defend their own version of feminism,’ says Berezin."
