of these parties have been able to obtain much political recognition in their countries. They also share many of the same characteristics, as well as tactics that have allowed them to become successful. First, both parties are lead by very charismatic leaders. The Swiss People’s Party is lead by the industrialist Christoph Blocher, while the Freedom Party is lead by Jorg Haider. Both men are extremely charismatic and energetic. Secondly, these two parties carry much of the same policy, like incoherent economic policies, a rejection of European integration, and ugly attacks on immigrants. Oddly, both leaders also have similar views on WWII and the Holocaust. Christoph Blocher once praised a book that claimed that the Holocaust never took place, while Jorg Haider has publicly praised Hitler’s employment practices, and called SS veterans "patriots" (UPI).Similar leaders is not the only thing that the Freedom Party and the Swiss People’s Party have in common. Both parties gain power by playing on people’s fear of losing what they have. For example, both parties claim that immigration is taking jobs away from citizens. Austria however has 4 percent unemployment, which is less than half of the European Average. Despite an economic downturn, Switzerland continues to be one of the world’s wealthiest nations. (UPI)While Austria and Switzerland currently have the strongest radical right wing political parties, almost every European nation has it’s own smaller right wing groups. Many of these parties are not as successful, because they lack charismatic leadership, or are to busy fighting over factions. However, the number of radical right wing groups have increased, and are becoming increasingly more mainstream.In France, the National Front is the largest right wing movement. It was formed by Jean-Marie Le Pen 25 years ago. France’s two round system of voting excludes National Front candi...
