Europe’s leaders cannot stop talking about democracy. President Emmanuel Macron says he wants to kickstart a democratic “resurgence”, and Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, has warned of an “axis” of autocratic states targeting liberal democracy in Europe. Having promised to “fight” for what she calls European “values”, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has just announced a new “democracy shield” and a Centre for Democratic Resilience to prevent foreign interference and deal with external threats. I keep hoping for similar scrutiny of democratic backsliding within the EU – but so far it has not happened.
Foreign interference, disinformation and the creeping illiberalism of Hungary, Poland and Slovakia deserve attention. But lost in this fretting is a more inconvenient truth: within Europe’s “mature” democracies, there is a steady corrosion of the rule of law, a degradation of political discourse and the normalisation of racism, xenophobia and discrimination.
Growing up in a country where democracy was fragile and frequently interrupted, I learned early that the issue is not merely about elections. It is about the quality of governance and of politicians. It depends on protecting human rights and dignity, ensuring social justice, respecting minorities – and minority views – and creating a genuine sense of belonging for all citizens.
That is why I am troubled when EU governments and political elites undermine the rule of law, constrain free speech, normalise police violence and ignore signs that racism and xenophobia have seeped into public life. Across the bloc, the demonisation of racialised refugees and migrants has become common. Ironically, even as they champion democratic renewal, Merz, Macron and von der Leyen are chipping away at the very values they claim to defend.
When Merz urged journalists to “ask your daughters” about why Germany’s changing “cityscape” threatens their security, he did more than infantilise German women. He activated toxic colonial and orientalist tropes of Black and brown men as violent, hypersexual, uncivilised aggressors, as bodies to be policed, controlled and deported. Though he later acknowledged migrants’ economic contributions, the damage was done. Merz moved Germany’s Overton window on what is considered acceptable in political discourse, thereby giving more oxygen to the far right.
In France, too, Macron’s legacy will be marked not only by his attempts at liberal reforms but by his legitimisation of far-right narratives. By echoing Marine Le Pen’s rhetoric on national identity, Islam and migration, Macron has normalised what was once unsayable for centrists. The far-right National Rally now stands as a respectable government-in-waiting precisely because the so-called liberal centre helped embed its ideas in the mainstream.
A similar dynamic is playing out within EU institutions. Italy’s Giorgia Meloni may have set the shameful example by outsourcing the processing of asylum seekers to Albania, but it is the European Commission that has incorporated deportation as a legitimate policy tool in the EU’s new migration pact – and von der Leyen who keeps signing migration-deterrence deals with regimes such as those in Tunisia and Egypt that are accused of abuse and torture.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has laid bare the many ways in which the EU is in violation of its own norms and principles, as well as in flagrant breach of its obligations under international law to prevent and punish genocide. In Germany, police forces have been condemned by UN experts for criminalising and suppressing legitimate Palestinian solidarity activism. In Belgium, the use of teargas, batons and water cannon against peaceful protesters outside the European parliament prompted calls for an investigation from Amnesty International. EU institutions are quick to condemn state violence in other parts of the world, but are silent when it occurs within their own borders.
After every European election, we reassure ourselves that the “centre is holding”. The reality is that whether in national governments or in the European parliament, far-right parties are increasingly shaping the European agenda. The conservative European People’s party has grown ever-more comfortable forming majorities with far-right groups, especially on environmental policy. Politicians across Europe are adopting far-right talking points on migration and Muslims. The excuse is always that this is being done to contain the hardliners, even though studies consistently show that such mimicry amplifies and normalises extremism.
Still, there are glimmers of hope. Spain’s Pedro Sánchez has shown moral clarity on Gaza and adopted a national migration policy which is rooted in dignity and solidarity. In the Netherlands, Rob Jetten of the centre-left D66, expected to lead a new coalition, ran on a platform of hope rather than hate and spoke out against Israel’s genocide. The UK Green party’s Zack Polanski and Ireland’s new president Catherine Connolly are helping to revive a progressive political discourse in their countries. And across the Atlantic, New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, a proud son of immigrants and unapologetic advocate for justice, housing and solidarity, has demonstrated that democracy’s vitality depends on moral courage and inclusive coalitions – and that racial and religious identity can be a source of pride.
European leaders should take note that, even as the EU arms itself with a “democracy shield”, strengthening democratic resilience is not only about fighting external threats, adversaries and disinformation. It is also about building inclusive democracy at home, dismantling racism, ensuring equality and creating a sense of belonging for all European citizens.
Shada Islam is a Brussels-based commentator on EU affairs. She runs New Horizons Project, a strategy, analysis and advisory company
