‘Raise our heads and resist’: how Europe’s civil society is fighting back against the far right

Rightwing parties are using parliamentary queries, legal traps and policing to target NGOs and stifle dissent

• Revealed: Five EU governments found to ‘consistently’ dismantle rule of law

Pauline Voss, the deputy editor of Nius, a fast-growing rightwing media outlet whose ambition is to be Germany’s Fox News, believes progressive civil society groups in Germany are engaged in a coordinated campaign to “act against their own population”.

That may be why, according to research this year by the progressive pressure group Campact, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) filed 295 parliamentary queries targeting left-leaning NGOs last year – more than twice as many as in 2024.

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