Daniel SteinmetzĺJenkins and Anton Jäger The populist right is forging an unholy alliance with religion From Salvini to Orbán, ethnoĺnationalists are hijacking religious themes to fuel its agenda. Progressives need to fight back Tue 11 Jun 2019 06.00 BST W hy are so many religious citizens drawn to the rhetoric of authoritarian leaders such as Matteo Salvini, Viktor Orbán, Jair Bolsonaro and Narendra Modi? Even in countries with a strong secular tradition, such as France and the Netherlands, rightwing populists like Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders are quick to resort to language that presents “Judeo-Christianity” as the pillar of western European civilisation. In Belgium, the Flemish nationalist party NƈVA has made a name for itself defending institutions “abandoned” by the Christian-Democrats, such as the