Denmark joins crackdown on immigration

Days after the far right made dramatic advances in the Dutch elections, Denmark is about to tighten its immigration laws drastically, highlighting the extent to which mainstream politics across Europe is being forced to adjust to the right-wing populist agenda.

The government struck a deal on Friday with Pia Kjaersgaard's Danish People's Party, which has enough seats to force it from office, on a package of new, stricter laws on asylum. This follows the electoral earthquake in the Netherlands, which saw the anti-immigration Lijst Fortuyn party take second place,

Denmark, which argues it has a more generous system than most EU countries, plans to force immigrants to wait seven years, rather than the current three, to gain permanent residence, and nine years, rather than seven, before being eligible for citizenship. The blueprint – now sure to go through parliament – will mean Denmark granting asylum only in cases where it is obliged to do so under international law, and would also make it more difficult for refugees to bring family into the country.

The Dutch election result continued a swing to the right which takes in not only Denmark, where Ms Kjaersgaard called for a "holy war" against Islam in the wake of 11 September, but Italy – where Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing government includes a post-fascist party which last year attacked Islamic culture – Austria, Portugal and France.

Across Europe the centre-left, which once dominated the chancelleries of Europe, is on the back foot. It faces further challenges in next month's national assembly elections in France, where Jean-Marie Le Pen will return to the campaign trail with his anti-immigrant rhetoric, and in Germany's national elections in September. The degree to which the Christian Democrat candidate for Chancellor, Edmund Stoiber, highlights law and order issues will be watched closely.

The Netherlands is likely to follow Austria and Portugal in having populist or far right parties forming part of the government. But the issues now championed by the far right – crime, security, poor public services and immigration policy – have begun to feature in all national elections.

Earlier this month Robin Cook, in his capacity as president of the Party of European Socialists, warned of "the advance of the extreme right from the further fringes of European politics to the standing of a significant minority ... The new strength of the far right is a matter of concern."

And Claude Moraes, a Labour MEP and former director of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said yesterday: "The trend is not so much that people are for policies like repatriation, but the influence these ideas from the far right are having on the main parties. On issues such as benefits to foreigners and immigration policy, their ideas are mainstreaming."

A spokesman for the centre right European People's Party- European Democratic Group argued that governments led by Christian Democrats will be moderate, but added: "Our society is being affected by a number of factors and it is the duty of politicians to address them. If people feel their concerns are being ignored you get a reaction."

The aftermath of the Dutch elections is being monitored closely as the leader of the Dutch Christian Democrats and prime minister in waiting, Jan Peter Balkenende, tries to assemble a coalition. He is expected to invite the Lijst Fortuyn into government in recognition of its status as the second biggest party in the Netherlands. As the parties get down to detailed wrangling, he has made it clear that Lijst Fortuyn will have to tone down its anti-immigrant rhetoric.

But even the outgoing social democratic government was starting to take a tougher line on immigration, and Mr Balkenende must recognise his own huge success in the elections was achieved on the coat-tails of Mr Fortuyn, who was murdered 10 days before polling.