Far Right Femininomenons: Women Leaders Reshaping Europe's Party Politics By Rongfei Mu | Published by Critical Debates in Humanities, Science and Global Justice
Historically, Fascist and Nazi interwar movements were dominated by hyper-masculine leadership, with figures like Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler embodying a cult of authoritarian strength and militarism. Following World War Two, their descendant far right and neo-Nazi parties continued to be dominated by male leadership, which has long reinforced the perception that the far-right ideology is fundamentally linked to aggressive male dominance. Yet in today’s Europe, a striking counter-phenomenon has emerged: women now occupy some of the most influential positions within far-right parties, wielding power in ways that subvert traditional gender expectations. Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s first female Prime Minister and leader of the Brothers of Italy (FdI), Marine Le Pen, president of France’s National Rally (RN), and Alice Weidel, co-chairwoman of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD), exemplify this shift. These female leaders, or femininomenons as they are sometimes referred to, have not
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