At the start of his second term, President Trump has positioned himself at the crest of a global wave of hardline conservative populism, offering fuel and inspiration to rising nationalist parties in the European Union and beyond.

These parties are generally united by strong anti-immigrant stances, support for what they call “traditional” values ​​at odds with LGBT rights, aversion to climate regulations, and harsh criticism of establishment politicians and parties.

To varying degrees, some, though not all, have also sought to weaken or undermine existing ones institutions, such as courts or independent media, in what critics have called efforts to undermine democracy and maintain authoritarian rule.

It’s a broad spectrum that includes the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which is trying to broaden its appeal ahead of next month’s election but still winks at Nazi slogans; The Brothers of Italy, which grew out of post-fascism but moderated after winning power; The National Assembly, which has more MPs than ever in France after a long-running attempt to soften its image; and the Freedom Party of Austria, which was founded by former Nazi soldiers decades ago and adopted a combative image en route to victory in last fall’s election.

But the parties differ from each other, and from Mr. Trump, in critical ways. Rhetorically, Mr. Trump falls on the far end of the spectrum of right-wing politicians and parties who have not been shy about using overtly racist or inflammatory language to disparage immigrants and political opponents.

In some cases, such as his calls to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, Mr. Trump has promised changes that many of his fans in Europe have failed to deliver.

Giorgia Meloni, for example, has withdrawn many of her more hard-line views since becoming Italy’s prime minister. In a way, Ms. Meloni provided a road map for hard-right leaders who want to win and hold power in Europe: lead the firefight, but stay centered on some issues — most notably support for Ukraine.

Mr. Trump may be giving competitively, less apologetically and more pointedly. Experts say that even Mrs. Meloni, who attended the inauguration of Mr. Trump, and right-wing parties in Europe could be tempted to follow it.

“Barriers are breaking down,” said Nathalie Tocci, a leading Italian political scientist.

Here is how the main conservative populist parties of the European Union compare with each other, with Mr. Trump, in key issues:

They divide over Ukraine

Mr Trump has vowed to end the war immediately, although it is not clear how he plans to do so. In Europe, support for Ukraine has divided right-wing parties, and those that take ambiguous or pro-Russian positions have been pushed to the margins.

Many of them view post-Soviet Russia as a bastion of traditional values, but the all-out invasion of Ukraine has dampened its appeal, at least for some.

“There are differences” between Ms Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party and other forces such as Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Hungarian Fidesz party, said Carlo Fidanza, head of Ms Meloni’s delegation to the European Parliament. “The main thing is Ukraine.”

Ms. Meloni has positioned herself as a strong advocate for Ukraine, along with most of Italy’s EU allies. She said it would be a “mistake” to leave Ukraine.

In Hungary, however, the Fidesz party strongly opposes any military aid to Ukraine and European sanctions against Russia over the war, which it blames for Hungary’s high inflation rate and generally poor economic performance. (Hungary has long depended on relatively cheap Russian energy.)

Mr. Orban has met twice with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin since the invasion began, presenting himself as a “peacemaker” and denouncing Hungary’s EU and NATO allies as warmongers.

The war severed previously close ties between Mr Orban and Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice party, or PiS, which was in power in February 2022 when Russia invaded.

But other far-right leaders are closer to Mr. Orban’s camp. Herbert Kickl, the man expected to be Austria’s next chancellor, and his Freedom Party have built ties with Moscow and criticized European interference in Ukraine.

Alice Weidel, the chancellor candidate of the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which has the most support in eastern Germany where it has a strong affinity for Russia, accused German leaders of a “very dangerous” escalation of the conflict by supporting Ukraine.

In France, National Rally 2014 took a loan of 9.4 million euros, then worth 12.2 million dollars, from a Russian bank, and Marine Le Penlong-time party leader, once said she “admired” Mr. Putin.

But since the Russian invasion, which was condemned by the National Assembly and its top officials, the party has tried to change – if only slightly.

The National Assembly is not opposed to sending defense equipment to Ukraine. But he strongly opposes supplying Ukrainians with offensive weapons.

She has also repeatedly opposed some sanctions on Russian imports — especially energy — and rejected the possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union or NATO.

Some soften the conversation

Many of the farthest right-wing parties in Europe share the abrasive rhetoric of Mr. Trump, belittling his enemies and portraying themselves as outsiders and victims.

Over the years, Ms. Meloni has condemned what she called the ethnic replacement of Italians by immigrants and called for a naval blockade of illegal migrants.

Since taking office, she has toned down her tirades. While Mr. Trump on Monday condemned the “invasion” of immigrants into the United States, Ms. Meloni largely stopped using the word.

Yet she continued to use polarizing language to portray her party as underdogs and underdogs, and to launch scathing attacks on the left, journalists, unionists, judges and liberal billionaire donor George Soros. She has too he continued to oppose homosexuals parenting and teaching gender theory in schools.

The National Assembly in France tried to distance itself from the racist, anti-Semitic and anti-gay outbursts of its founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died this month. His daughter Marine tried to shift the party’s focus more on pocket money issues as part of a long-term effort to not demonize it.

The change helped the party advance in the elections, even to many pundits characterized it as mere marketing. The party’s relentless focus on protecting French identity and its desire to change the French constitution to limit the rights of foreigners still mark it in France as a far-right party, experts say.

In Germany, where voters will elect a new government at the end of February, the Alternative for Germany party is also trying to soften its image. She chose Ms. Weidel — a lesbian economist who lives in Switzerland with her Sri Lankan partner and children — as the standard bearer in the race.

She and the party are trying to appeal to a wider audience, helped in part by billionaire Elon Musk, who has backed the AfD. But they say very different things to different audiences.

Parts of the AfD have been officially classified as extremist by the German government. But Ms Weidel told Mr Musk in a recent friendly interview that the AfD was a “conservative libertarian party”.

Just days later, members of the AfD party greeted Ms. Weidel with repeated chants of “Alice for Germany,” a play on the old Nazi refrain “All for Germany,” which now a crime to use in Germany.

Some parties have not softened their tone at all. In Austria, the Freedom Party gained strength in recent elections after intensifying confrontational language critical of immigrants and Islam.

Party members enjoyed Nazi-sounding slogans, including Mr. Kickla. The Freedom Party campaigned on the promise that Mr Kickl would be a “Volkskanzler” – “people’s chancellor” – a term used by Hitler.

Shades of immigration

Mr. Trump has vowed to deport every one of the millions of immigrants who remain in the United States illegally. Although immigration is at the center of the agenda of all these parties in Europe, they have different ideas about how to solve it.

The AfD has promised to deport some recent migrants to Germany who commit crimes, but not those who learn German or otherwise assimilate.

Fidesz in Hungary has condemned migrants as a threat to public health and potential terrorists.

Ms. Meloni said she only opposes illegal immigration, and recognized the need for legal immigration. She introduced a a highly contested plan to transfer asylum seekers to centers in Albania while their cases are being heard, and supported laws for the distribution of migrants from border countries where they first arrive (such as Italy and Greece) to other European Union countries.

Other nationalist leaders in countries farther from the coast opposed the idea.

In France, the National Assembly wants to drastically reduce immigration, eliminate birthright citizenshipthey force asylum seekers to apply for asylum abroad and give preference to the French over even legal migrants for welfare benefits and subsidized housing.

The party argues that reducing immigration is necessary to free up funds for other areas such as health and to protect French identity.

Jim Tankersley reported from Berlin, Emma Bubola from Rome, Andrew Higgins from Warsaw and Aurelien Breeden from Paris.