Politics

Aidan Regan: Just how far is Ireland from having a far-right party?

As a nation without an electorally viable anti-immigration radical right-wing party in 2023, we are outliers across the globe. How did we get here, and what do we need to do to remain a liberal democracy?

Marine Le Pen of the French far-right party Rassemblement National (National Rally): the party has the support of almost 50 per cent of French voters. Picture: Getty

If Ireland doesn’t see the emergence of an electorally competitive radical right party that mobilises on anti-immigration, it will be an extreme outlier among the liberal democracies of the world. With immigration rising as a concern among some voters, and Sinn Féin evolving into an establishment party, it may only be a matter of time before a populist radical right party gets a strong electoral foothold in Ireland.

It is worth remembering just how electorally ...