Chapter 101: Present Divisions

380     what Trump termed “migrant crime” See “Read the Full Transcripts of Donald Trump’s Interviews With TIME,” Time, April 30, 2024, time.com/6972022/donald-trump-transcript-2024-election/.

380     39.9 percent . . . “certain of the danger of ethnic substitution . . ."  CENSIS (Centro Studi Investimenti Sociali, or Center for Studies in Social Investment), “The Irrational Society,” press release, December 3, 2021, accessed via Wayback Machine, December 3, 2021 capture, web.archive.org/web/20211203090917/www.censis.it/rapporto-annuale/la-societ%C3%A0-irrazionale, via Google Translate.

380     pledged to impose a naval blockade . . .  Alessandra Rizzo, “Giorgia Meloni: She’s Called for a Naval Blockade of Africa to Stop Migrants—Who Is the Far-Right Leader Set to Become Italy’s First Female PM?” Sky News, September 24, 2022, news.sky.com/story/who-is-giorgia-meloni-far-right-leader-set-to-become-italys-first-female-pm-12703271; and Crispian Balmer, “Migrants Face Tougher Times in Meloni’s Italy,” Reuters, October 7, 2022, www.reuters.com/world/europe/migrants-face-tougher-times-melonis-italy-2022-10-07/.

380     Taking a page from Australia and England  Tiffanie Turnbull, “How Australia Wrote the ‘Stop the Boats’ Playbook,” BBC News, March 17, 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-64898507.

380     “stop the boats” from North Africa  Barbie Latza Nadeau, “Analysis: Will Italy’s PM Stop the Boats or Will the Boats Stop Her?” CNN, April 23, 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/04/23/europe/meloni-italy-migrants-politics-intl/index.html.

380     as illusory as Trump’s border wall On Trump’s border wall, see Lucy Rodgers and Dominic Bailey, “Trump Wall: How Much Has He Actually Built?” BBC News, October 31, 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46824649. On Meloni’s naval blockade, see Maurice Stierl, “Ten Years of Maritime Resistance in the Mediterranean Sea,” Al Jazeera, opinion, July 31, 2024, www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/7/31/ten-years-of-maritime-resistance-in-the-mediterranean-sea.

380    the most votes and seats  Paul Kirby, “Giorgia Meloni: Italy's Far-Right Wins Election and Vows to Govern for All,” BBC News, September 26, 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63029909.

380     Italy’s first female prime minister . . . her deputy prime minister  Angela Giuffrida, “Far-Right Leader Giorgia Meloni Sworn In as Italy’s Prime Minister,” The Guardian, October 22, 2022, www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/22/far-right-leader-giorgia-meloni-sworn-in-as-italys-prime-minister.

380     received half the share of votes . . . Lega received 8.9% of the vote, down from 17.4% in 2018. See “Italy—2022 General Election,” in “Italy—National Parliament Voting Intention,” Politico, Poll of Polls, accessed April 10, 2025, www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/italy/.

380     former Lega voters casting the most votes . . .“Most of the votes for FdI in the 2022 election came from voters who opted for Lega in 2018 . . . the appreciation of FdI’s leader is the most important factor explaining vote switching from 2018 to 2022. Briefly, for former Lega voters only an appreciation of Meloni was impactful in turning towards FdI.” Leonardo Puleo et al., “Giorgia on Their Minds: Vote Switching to Fratelli d’Italia in the Italian General Election of 2022,” Party Politics 31, no. 4 (June 2024), doi.org/10.1177/13540688241257780.

380–381     forced . . . to provide their personal data . . . to receive the COVID vaccine  “The report finds that data collected by the state for administering public services, such as registering for the Covid vaccine, administering tax benefits, and mandatory membership in professional associations, was repurposed to spread Fidesz’s campaign messages.” Human Rights Watch, Trapped in a Web: The Exploitation of Personal Data in Hungary’s 2022 Elections, December 1, 2022, www.hrw.org/report/2022/12/01/trapped-web/exploitation-personal-data-hungarys-2022-elections#_ftn127. Hungary Today reported, “During the coronavirus epidemic, millions of people registered on the Hungarian government’s official vakcinainfo.gov.hu website as a prerequisite for receiving vaccinations.” “PM Orbán Sends New Political Newsletter to E-mail Addresses Registered for Vaccination,” Hungary Today, April 14, 2022, hungarytoday.hu/pm-orban-new-political-newsletter-to-e-mail-address-vaccination-registration/.

381     used that data to microtarget . . . won handily  Human Rights Watch, Trapped in a Web, www.hrw.org/report/2022/12/01/trapped-web/exploitation-personal-data-hungarys-2022-elections#_ftn127.

381     prime minister of Israel for the third time  Carrie Keller-Lynn, “Netanyahu Returns as PM, Wins Knesset Support for Israel’s Most Hardline Government,” Times of Israel, December 29, 2022, www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-resumes-role-as-pm-as-israels-most-hardline-government-ever-takes-office/. 

381     the most seats in the 2022 Israeli legislative election  International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Election Guide, “Israeli Knesset 2022 General,” November 1, 2022, last updated March 10, 2023, accessed April 10, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3970/.

381     formed a governing majority with . . . and Jewish Power parties “Israel’s Netanyahu Closer to Hard-Right Government with New Legislation,” Reuters, December 27, 2022, www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-netanyahu-closer-hard-right-government-with-new-legislation-2022-12-27/.

381     lost the 2022 presidential election  IFES Election Guide, “Brazilian Presidency Round 2,” October 30, 2022, last updated August 2, 2023, accessed April 10, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3867/.

381     more seats than any other party in both houses  IFES Election Guide, “Brazilian Chamber of Deputies 2022 General,” October 2, 2022, last updated August 2, 2023, accessed April 10, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3762/; and IFES Election Guide, “Brazilian Federal Senate 2022 General,” October 2, 2022, last updated August 2, 2023, accessed April 10, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3763/.

381     campaigned on . . . in snap elections  “Anti-Vaccine Protesters Try to Storm Bulgaria's Parliament,” Reuters, January 12, 2022, www.reuters.com/world/europe/anti-vaccine-protesters-try-storm-bulgarias-parliament-2022-01-12/; and Elitsa Simeonova and Tony Wesolowsky, “Revival on the Rise: Ahead of Elections, Far-Right Party Is Tapping into Bulgarian Public Anger,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, October 1, 2022, www.rferl.org/a/bulgaria-elections-revival-pro-russian/32060748.html.

381     won twenty-seven seats, more than doubling its 2021 total  Revival won 13 seats in the National Assembly in the November 2021 election. IFES Election Guide, “Bulgarian National Assembly 2022 General,” October 2, 2022, last updated August 23, 2023, accessed April 10, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3966/; and IFES Election Guide, “Bulgarian National Assembly 2021 General November,” November 14, 2021, last updated August 16, 2023, accessed April 10, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3960/.

381     campaigned against . . . and immigration  Kazutaka Kamizawa, “Populist Sanseito Party Rising Through Rhetoric Seen on YouTube,” Asahi Shimbun, December 11, 2022, www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14781333.

381     won the party’s first-ever seat in the House of Councillors  Kamizawa, “Populist Sanseito Party Rising Through Rhetoric Seen on YouTube,” www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14781333. 

381     edited and published  Yuki Honda et al., “Five-Year-Old Suffrage Party Is a ‘Shadow Government’ That Secretly Controls Society, Its Leader Claims,” Asahi Shimbun, July 16, 2025, www.asahi.com/articles/AST7H1CH9T7HUTIL008M.html, via Google Translate.

381     “Jewish international . . . capital” . . . “fears about . . . pandemic” . . . “enormous profits”  Party for the Promotion of Democracy Q&A Book: Basic Edition, ed. Sohei Kamiya, June 2022, quoted in Honda et al., “Five-Year-Old Suffrage Party Is a ‘Shadow Government’ That Secretly Controls Society, Its Leader Claims,” www.asahi.com/articles/AST7H1CH9T7HUTIL008M.html.

381     “Jewish international finance capital Party for the Promotion of Democracy Q&A Book: Basic Edition, ed. Sohei Kamiya, June 2022, quoted in Honda et al., “Five-Year-Old Suffrage Party Is a ‘Shadow Government’ That Secretly Controls Society, Its Leader Claims,” www.asahi.com/articles/AST7H1CH9T7HUTIL008M.html.

381     “effectively controls Western society . . .”  Party for the Promotion of Democracy Q&A Book: Basic Edition, ed. Sohei Kamiya, June 2022, quoted in Honda et al., “Five-Year-Old Suffrage Party Is a ‘Shadow Government’ That Secretly Controls Society, Its Leader Claims,” www.asahi.com/articles/AST7H1CH9T7HUTIL008M.html.

381     more than 2 percent . . . to officially become a political party in Japan  Himari Semans, “Sanseito Touts ‘Japanese First’ Rhetoric to Gain Support,” Japan Times, July 1, 2025, www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/01/japan/politics/sanseito-upper-house-election/.

381     finished third at 7.15 percent . . . 1.3 percent of the vote in 2019  IFES Election Guide, “Portuguese Assembly of the Republic 2022 General,” January 30, 2022, last updated June 21, 2024, accessed April 10, 2025,www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3823/; and IFES Election Guide, “Portuguese Assembly of the Republic 2019 General,” October 6, 2019, last updated June 21, 2024, accessed April 10, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3178/.

381     the second-most-powerful party in Sweden IFES Election Guide, “Swedish Parliament 2022 General,” September 11, 2022, last updated August 2, 2023, accessed April 10, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3813/.

381     agreed not to enter . . . its “hard-line” immigration policies through Charles Szumski, ”Sweden Launches Global Campaign Against Migration,” Euractiv, January 25, 2023, www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/sweden-launches-global-campaign-against-migration/.

382     “an elevenfold increase” . . . from eight to eighty-nine  Jules Darmanin, “Le Pen’s National Rally Wins Seats, Airtime and Money in French Vote,” Politico, June 20, 2022, www.politico.eu/article/marine-le-pen-national-rally-win-seat-airtime-money-france-legislative-election/.

382     39 percent . . .“ their government’s response . . . too restrictive . . .”  Jon Henley, “Majority of Public in Europe Support Covid Vaccine Passports—Survey,” The Guardian, November 19, 2021, www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/19/majority-of-public-in-europe-support-covid-vaccine-passports-survey.

382    up 16 percentage points from 2020  Henley, “Majority of Public in Europe Support Covid Vaccine Passports—Survey,” www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/19/majority-of-public-in-europe-support-covid-vaccine-passports-survey.

382     exceeded the fifteen-seat minimum to become . . . for the first time since 1986  Darmanin, “Le Pen’s National Rally Wins Seats, Airtime and Money in French Vote,” www.politico.eu/article/marine-le-pen-national-rally-win-seat-airtime-money-france-legislative-election/.

382     increased public financing . . . and other benefits  Tracy McNicoll, “Prizes Abound for Le Pen’s Far Right in Historic French Legislative Elections,” France 24, June 14, 2022, www.france24.com/en/france/20220614-prizes-abound-for-le-pen-s-far-right-in-historic-french-legislative-elections.

382     handed over the presidency . . . Jordan Bardella  Kim Willsher, “France’s Far-Right National Rally Elects New President to Replace Le Pen,” The Guardian, November 5, 2022, www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/05/frances-far-right-party-rn-elects-new-president-to-replace-le-pen.

382     “the African continent” . . . “the demographic bomb”  BFMTV, “Follow the Debate Between Nathalie Loiseau and Jordan Bardella on BFMTV, YouTube, May 15, 2019, www.youtube.com/live/fz3i_6wblig?si=8flonhmEtSptt9Ty, 34:40–34:49, via Google Translate; and Jordan Bardella, BFMTV debate May 15, 2019, quoted in “Jordan Bardella Mentions the "Great Replacement’ Without Naming It,” France-Soir, May 16, 2019, www.francesoir.fr/politique-france/jordan-bardella-evoque-le-grand-remplacement-sans-le-nommer.

382     41.5 percent of the vote  “French Election: Macron Holds Off Far-Right Push,” New York Times, April 24, 2022, last updated April 25, 2022, www.nytimes.com/live/2022/04/24/world/french-election-runoff-results; and IFES Election Guide, “French Presidency 2022 Round 2,” April 24, 2022, last updated June 21, 2024, accessed April 10, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3803/.

382      his number one bestseller  Submission “shot to the top of the country’s bestseller lists with a first-week sale of more than 100,000 copies.” Alison Flood, “Houellebecq’s Soumission Becomes Instant Bestseller in Wake of Paris Attacks,” The Guardian, January 16, 2015, www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/16/michel-houellebecq-soumission-bestseller-charlie-hebdo.

382     published on the day of the Charlie Hebdo terror attack  Flood, “Houellebecq’s Soumission Becomes Instant Bestseller in Wake of Paris Attacks,” www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/16/michel-houellebecq-soumission-bestseller-charlie-hebdo.

382     loses the first round of voting . . . head of the “Muslim Brotherhood” party  Tony Todd, “A Muslim-Run France? Novel Sparks Islamophobia Row,” France 24, January 4, 2015, www.france24.com/en/20150104-novelist-houellebecq-vision-muslim-governed-france-not-racist-islamaphobia; and Alex Preston, “Submission by Michel Houellebecq Review—Satire That’s More Subtle Than It Seems,” The Guardian, September 8, 2015, www.theguardian.com/books/2015/sep/08/submission-michel-houellebecq-review-satire-islamic-france.

382     fear electing . . . put Ben Abbes in power  Todd, “A Muslim-Run France? Novel Sparks Islamophobia Row,” www.france24.com/en/20150104-novelist-houellebecq-vision-muslim-governed-france-not-racist-islamaphobia.

382     replace . . . with Muslim culture  Todd, “A Muslim-Run France? Novel Sparks Islamophobia Row,” www.france24.com/en/20150104-novelist-houellebecq-vision-muslim-governed-france-not-racist-islamaphobia.

382     “What is very interesting about this book . . .” Marine Le Pen quoted in Todd, “A Muslim-Run France? Novel Sparks Islamophobia Row,” www.france24.com/en/20150104-novelist-houellebecq-vision-muslim-governed-france-not-racist-islamaphobia.

382     “We see in Jewry an immediate danger . . .” Joseph Goebbels, Sportpalast speech, February 18, 1943, quoted in Peter Longerich, Goebbels: A Biography, trans. Alan Bance et al. (New York: Random House, 2015), 559. To find this book at a library, visit search.worldcat.org/title/869262446.

382     “Germany, in any case, does not intend . . .” Goebbels, Sportpalast speech, quoted in Longerich, Goebbels, 559. Find the library book at search.worldcat.org/title/869262446.

382     won the 2022 French presidential election “French Election: Macron Holds Off Far-Right Push,” www.nytimes.com/live/2022/04/24/world/french-election-runoff-results.

383     called for the abolition of Liberation Day in 2018 “‘April 25 Is Divisive’: Meloni Calls for National Holiday to Be November 4,” www.agi.it/politica/news/2018-10-31/meloni_festa_nazionale_4_novembre_25_aprile-4554680/; and Monica Rubino, “Meloni Launches Fdi's Patriotic Offensive: ‘November 4th Becomes a National Holiday Again, April 25th Is Divisive,’" la Repubblica, November 1, 2018, www.repubblica.it/politica/2018/11/01/news/meloni_festa_4_novembre_fdi-210531022/, via Google Translate.

383     “divisive” “‘April 25 Is Divisive’: Meloni Calls for National Holiday to Be November 4,” www.agi.it/politica/news/2018-10-31/meloni_festa_nazionale_4_novembre_25_aprile-4554680/.

383     “Freedom Day” to “overcome past divisions” “President Meloni’s letter to the Corriere della Sera newspaper on Liberation Day,” Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Italian Government, www.governo.it/it/node/22468.

383     “all Italians who put the love for their homeland . . .” “President Meloni’s letter to the Corriere della Sera newspaper on Liberation Day,” www.governo.it/it/node/22468.