Faced with the steady rise of the far right, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz have made similar choices, adopting parts of the agenda pushed by the National Rally and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the hope of cutting the ground out from under them. What several analysts now describe as a strangulation strategy has so far produced largely the opposite of its intended effect.
In both France and Germany, the political logic was the same, toughening rhetoric and policy on immigration, security, and political Islam in the hope of depriving the far right of its ammunition and winning back part of its electorate. Macron has pushed a string of bills and statements on these issues, while Merz recently said, alongside Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa, that he wants around 80 percent of Syrians living in Germany to return home, a position welcomed by part of his own coalition but criticized even within his own ranks.
The trouble with this approach, according to several political scientists cited in the press, is that it amounts to accepting a playing field defined by the far right itself. By foregrounding identity and security themes, the two leaders have not only legitimized these issues as top priorities, they have also triggered defections among progressive voters, without managing to convince the most radical voters to prefer the copy over the original.
The numbers illustrate the paradox in Germany. The AfD now sits atop most national polls, at 27 to 29 percent of voting intentions, far ahead of Merz's CDU CSU alliance, polling between roughly 19.5 and 23 percent. The far right party also posted a historic result of 43.8 percent in Saxony Anhalt's regional election in early September, more than double its 2021 score, a setback Merz himself called the CDU's most serious defeat in decades.
In France, the National Rally likewise holds a commanding position in the polls as the 2027 presidential election approaches, with Marine Le Pen sticking to her most identity driven promises on immigration and public order. The conclusion drawn by several observers is similar on both sides of the Rhine, that in trying to neutralize the far right by borrowing its own themes, governing parties have mostly helped normalize them, without convincing voters they could deliver on them better than the original.
This account draws on reporting by The Epoch Times and Euronews.