Right-wing populism

Defense Minister Panos Kammenos Friday denounced Turkey as "the beasts on the other side who murdered without even respecting the rules of war and continue to do so today."

EU chiefs on March 15 blasted Turkey's Nazi remarks with The Netherlands and Germany as "detached from reality" and incompatible with its ambitions to join the bloc.

Amid rising populism, xenophobia, and anti-establishment moods globally, several European countries including the Netherlands, France, Germany, and possibly Italy are preparing for an election cycle that may have significant impact on the future of the EU and indeed Europe.

'What Is Populism?' by Jan-Werner Müller (University of Pennsylvania Press, 136 pages, $20)

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has welcomed the results of the presidential election in Austria calling it "a breath of fresh air."

In Austria, left-leaning Alexander Van der Bellen defeated right-wing rival Norbert Hofer, a victory welcomed by moderate politicians across Europe seeking to halt the wave of right-wing populism sweeping Western democracies.

'The Populist Explosion: How the Great Recession Transformed American and European Politics' by John B. Judis (Columbia Global Reports, $13, 184 pages)

"It is not unknown," writes the Belgrade-based newspaper Danas, "that Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) stands for the so-called Serb cause."

Their leader, Heinz Christian Strache, meanwhile, puts his faith in Serbs when it comes to fighting Islamization, the daily said.

BELGRADE - Serbia is committed to finding the perpetrators of war crimes, Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic said Thursday at a meeting in Belgrade with Serge Brammertz, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), who, in turn, once again raised the issue of the extradition of three Serbian Radical Party (SRS) members.

'On Extremism and Democracy in Europe' by Cas Mudde (Routledge, 163 pages, £45)

Former US diplomats, academics and activists called on presidential candidate Donald Trump to disavow support from Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj, who is on trial for alleged war crimes.