Steve Bannon's Master Plan for Europe

Summary

VICE examines Steve Bannon’s effort to connect Europe’s right-wing populist parties and help them gain influence.

Sweden

Ahead of the election, a fringe pro-Trump rally drew counter-protesters and a large police presence. The report describes a political shift in Sweden, where debate increasingly centered on immigration, national identity, and culture rather than traditional economic issues.

The Sweden Democrats, a party with roots in the country’s neo-Nazi movement, had become a major political force. Bannon said he had studied the party’s transformation from political outcast to potential kingmaker. In the election, it won about 18 percent of the vote and 13 additional parliamentary seats.

Party leaders portrayed Sweden as a warning about the effects of liberal immigration policies. Critics questioned the party’s record and its links between immigration and crime.

Italy

The report traces how migration became a potent political issue amid rising arrivals and violent events, including the murder of Pamela Mastropietro and the subsequent shooting of African migrants by a far-right activist.

Matteo Salvini used social media to campaign against migration and later became interior minister. Italy’s new coalition brought together the right-wing League and the populist Five Star Movement—a combination Bannon viewed as a breakthrough against the establishment and a possible model for other countries.

Bannon’s organizing project

At a former monastery in Italy, the Dignitatis Humanae Institute was developing an academy to promote what it called the Judeo-Christian foundations of Western civilization and prepare people for political work. Bannon’s worldview frames the struggle as a conflict involving jihadism, secularism, and what he calls a distorted form of capitalism.

In Belgium, Bannon and Belgian politician Michel Modrikamen established The Movement, an organization intended to connect populist leaders and help national movements coordinate. Its supporters describe the goal as mutual support across borders, even as the parties emphasize nationalism at home.

Overall, the report presents Bannon’s strategy as building an international network of populist movements. It uses shared messages about immigration, cultural identity, and alienation from political elites to advance parties in their own countries.

Presenters and contributors

Michael Moynihan (reporter); Steve Bannon; Matthias Karlsson; Benjamin Harnwell; Marcello Foa; Armando Siri; Michel Modrikamen; Matteo Salvini (featured political figure).