Over the past year Europe has witnessed successive wins by extreme right parties in national elections. In September 2022, Fratelli d’Italia, led by Giorgia Meloni, won the Italian general elections. She’s the first Italian prime minister with roots in neofascism to take office since World War II. A far-right government was formed with Salvini’s Lega and late Berlusconi’s party Forza Italia. In that same month the Sweden Democrats became the second biggest party in Sweden, and are supporting an extreme right minority government. In Finland, the Finns Party was the second biggest party in the April 2023 parliamentary elections. The Finns Party took office, joining a coalition of right-wing conservative parties. What do these victories of extreme right parties mean for the policies in support of sexual and reproductive rights, at home and abroad?
Promoting the ‘traditional family’
Fratelli d’Italia, and particularly its leadership, is known to have strong ties with anti-choice and anti-gender movements in Italy. They advocate the so-called ‘traditional family’, limiting who can have a family to a man and a woman and their children. The party actively propagates the populist idea that ethnic Italians are under threat of ‘replacement’ because of the country’s low birth figures and immigration. The Meloni government proceeded to install a Ministry for 'Family, Equal Opportunities and Natality', to which Eugenia Roccella has been appointed, who is known for her anti-abortion and anti-LGBTI stances. During the election campaign, Meloni said she won’t abolish the 1978 Act that allows access to abortion. But in regions where Fratelli d’Italia was already in power, local authorities proposed to allow anti-abortion activists to work in the health service-funded family counselling clinics, which give advice on abortion, contraception and sexual health. Meloni is planning on increasing child allowances for families and cutting back taxes, to encourage families to have more children and thus change the country’s demographics.
End to feminist foreign policy
The Sweden Democrats have roots in the Swedish neo-Nazi movement of the mid-1990s. The party questions funding for gender research and its representatives are taking down rainbow flags and working against SRHR in the localities they govern. While the party historically has been anti-choice and opposes a number of reproductive rights, they cannot push for changes in the Swedish national legislation given the broad support for the right to abortion among the general public and the endorsement of SRHR among its coalition parties. Their opposition to SRHR manifests itself at local levels.
The conservative- -liberal Government - that came into power in 2022 with the support of the Sweden Democrats - abandoned the label of “feminist” foreign policy, that marked the previous social-democrat government. The Government has announced its strong support to SRHR globally and SRHR experts expect Sweden to continue to devote attention and support to SRHR internationally. However, the new government did take a drastic decision to decrease its ODA expenditures from 1 to the minimum of 0,.7%. Sweden has already reduced its core support for multilateral agencies, including UNFPA, UNAIDS and UN WOMEN, affecting international policies and funding of SRHR.
The conservative- -liberal Government - that came into power in 2022 with the support of the Sweden Democrats - abandoned the label of “feminist” foreign policy, that marked the previous social-democrat government. The Government has announced its strong support to SRHR globally and SRHR experts expect Sweden to continue to devote attention and support to SRHR internationally. However, the new government did take a drastic decision to decrease its ODA expenditures from 1 to the minimum of 0,.7%. Sweden has already reduced its core support for multilateral agencies, including UNFPA, UNAIDS and UN WOMEN, affecting international policies and funding of SRHR.
Aligned in their anti-gender stances
The Finns Party has the same anti-gender stance as the Sweden Democrats and Fratelli d’Italia. Based on the Finns Party’s voting behaviour in parliament, bills related to the matter and party statements, the party rejects gender identity, opposes same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, and in-vitro fertilisation for same-sex couples and single women. While the new Finnish coalition government agreement does not openly express the Finns Party’s positions on these matters, the agreement is silent on LGBTIQ+ rights.
The Finns Party is supplying both the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Development Cooperation. The party proposed to cut all aid, opposing ODA altogether. While this proposal didn’t make it to the government agreement, serious cuts in ODA are expected. The thematic priorities in Finnish development cooperation remain undecided. However, the government programme does instrumentalise development aid as a way to prevent migration.
The Finns Party is supplying both the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Development Cooperation. The party proposed to cut all aid, opposing ODA altogether. While this proposal didn’t make it to the government agreement, serious cuts in ODA are expected. The thematic priorities in Finnish development cooperation remain undecided. However, the government programme does instrumentalise development aid as a way to prevent migration.
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