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In France, the National Front received 13.2 per cent of the vote this year, more than the gains by the AfD, but because of the country’s electoral system won only eight out of 377 seats in parliament. In Poland, the Law and Justice party received 37.6 per cent, and with a majority of 235 out of 460 seats has formed the government. Nationalist/anti-immigrant parties have also been successfully attracting votes in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia and other former communist countries of Eastern Europe.

Voters dissatisfied with their countries’ immigration policies also played important roles in the victory of the British referendum that led to Brexit, and of President Donald Trump in the United States.

The platforms of the nationalist/anti-immigrant parties in Europe appealed to voters who had personal experiences and learned from media reports that immigrants were responsible for many growing social and economic ills in their lives: the number and scope of terror attacks and criminal acts; threats to cultural and religious institutions and practices; the cost of housing; the crowding of schools, hospitals and public spaces; and the scarcity of jobs.

The establishment politicians in the countries with strong nationalist/anti-immigrant parties obviously have not been able to counter these views by claiming that their supporters are racist, xenophobic and fascists and that they do not understand the large benefits brought by immigrants: the elimination of labour shortages; reductions in the financial problems of social programs; increases in global solidarity with needy people in the rest of the world; and the benefits of greater cultural and religious diversity.