The far right’s rise is a wake-up call for Europe | Letters

Benjamin Selwyn, Dr Michael Esser and William Ward on the increasing popularity of rightwing extremists in Germany and Britain

Rafael Behr is right to warn that far-right parties, Maga ideology and Kremlin influence threaten Europe’s liberal democracies (European democracies are running out of time to turn away from the abyss, 9 September). But he overlooks the role of the liberal centre itself in creating the conditions for their rise.

While Thatcher, Reagan and their successors weakened trade unions and workers’ bargaining power, subsequent centre-left governments largely accepted these changes rather than reversing them. Under the banner of the “third way”, they expanded labour market insecurity, embraced financialisation and allowed private interests to penetrate ever deeper into public services. Social and economic inequality soared.