The rise of Europe's extreme right

OneWorld.net ^ | 10 May 2004 | Nick Ryan

[Stentor]

That is the reality of Nationalism, and the end results of Nationalist policies are nearly always horrific.

You are an internationalist?

[An.American.Expatriate]

Welcome to Free Republic.

Care to be specific about your claims?

[GOP_1900AD]

The USA was a result of nationalist policies. And we held to them strictly for our first several decades. It was when we started to discard Geo. Washington's advice to avoid unnecessary foreign entanglements that our own troubles started. Similarly, excess internationalism has resulted in many woes for certain European countries. There is well justified angst in the UK as well, regarding "integration." I think Peter Hitchens captures these things well in his two books. If the Tories will not speak for those who believe in Borders, Language and Culture, then there is no alternative but for the BNP to pick of the torch. Too bad, so sad. These are evil times.

[weegee]

I don't think it is just Islamofascism that they are trying to block. Socialism is also on the rise.

I read that these are "far right" but what does that mean? Where is the state in their political ideology?

Most of what is presented in this thread and editorial are about race hatred. That is not a political ideology akin to right wing/left wing. Unless we are going to echo the liberal mantra that all conservatives are racist.

I agree that these groups are racist. I do not necessarily agree that they are "right wing" or "conservative".

[GOP_1900AD]

Bump.

[An.American.Expatriate]

Problem is weegee, the Europeans have no comprehension of what an "american" right wing is! They can not understand us as our views are foreign to them. The "right" in Europe has NOTHING in common with the "right" in the US.

[CasearianDaoist]

Just what are you trying to say? Could you be more specific or is your "thought" as convoluted as your prose?

[AlexW]

"Since the left-wing secular socialists are failing to confront the threat"

You make a good point. The secular left condemns all forms of Christianity, but they bend over to placate the Muslims.

Maybe when Europe has a few 9/11 incidents....oh, never mind,
they will do as Spain, over less then 200 deaths.
They will just give the keys to Ben Laden, and build more mosques for him.

[An.American.Expatriate]

I suspect a troll . . .

[An.American.Expatriate]

PS - not you!!!!

[11Bush]

Please ask your mommy to explain how the world works, then get back to us.

[Akira]

Howdy, welcome to FR! Enjoy your stay.

...knowledge will set you free

Has your Chomskyite education set you free?

[usurper]

The writer comes off as a true believer in multiculturalism who simply can’t understand why everything he has been taught and believes is coming apart.

Therefore he must attack the motives of those whom he disagrees with him calling them (just a few quotes from the article) extremists “white power” music scene, numerous football hooligans or xenophobes and violent racists or affected by fears – some would say hysteria – over immigration, asylum, terrorism and Islam.

I am sure that some are, but perhaps the growing majority are simply aware of what is happening and want something done about it.

“Harking back to mythical better times is commonplace among the people I encountered, whether neo-nazi thugs or educated professionals.”

See wasn’t that an easy way to discredit people to don’t agree with you. Now watch him do it again in case you were not paying attention the first time.

Strange times are forging stranger alliances. I have witnessed gatherings of Islamic radicals with western Holocaust deniers, united in mutual anti-Semitism.

Now he is even having a go at the Jews:

With anti-Semitic feelings surging across Europe, some Jews have even turned to the far Right as a result of their own fears of attack and intimidation from North African or Turkish youths.

Here is what it all comes down to:

There are widely held beliefs – from the bars of Flanders to the alpine chalets of Bavaria – that someone else must to blame for the breakdown of traditional communities.

The writer just can’t comprehend it. He’s looking in the mirror. Fortunately Trevor Phillips, gets it:

Trevor Phillips, leader of the UK’s Commission for Racial Equality, has recently said that multiculturalism is dead and that integration is the way forward. Rather as with US citizenship rights, European states have begun to emulate the USA and focus on a “greater” embracing identity.

[Eurotwit]

First of all. I HATE ARTICLES SUCH AS THESE.

They portay parties like the Progress party in Norway and the Peoples's party in Denmark as neo nazis.

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!

[Eurotwit]

And the Progress party is not in the same league as the BNP.

The progress party is a party that appeals to Christian conservatives with a libertarian bent.

I hate articles like this....

[Eurotwit]

According to this article I am not only a troll. I am also a neo nazi.

I vote for the Progress party. The only half decent alternative for Norwegian conservatives. It has a libertarian bent. Is strongly pro-America, and pro-Israel. Wanted Norway to honour our US alliance with a real force in Iraq, and want to boot out Mullah Krekar.

[Eurotwit]

Listen,

This article is just downright ignorant!!!

Here is some real info from a great Norwegian blogger:

"The Danish People's Party is very different. It has certain aspects of American conservatism about it. They have a strong sense of patriotism, are very clear about Christianity being a central part of Danish culture, and feel warmly about individual freedom and law and order. They're also highly critical of the EU. On the issue of Muslim immigration, I think you can compare them to Oriana Fallaci. I've said before that Pia Kjærsgaard would feel at home as a bellicose blogger. She has a sharp pen and a good eye for the ridiculous effects of p.c.'ness.

If there's anything that bothers me about the Danish People's Party, it's a sense that deep down they're an angry party. I'm uneasy about angry parties. Maybe the Danes have more to be angry about, or maybe it's just a question of attitude. Of course, these are all just my impressions. I haven't followed these two parties closely, and just because I live in Norway doesn't mean I understand Denmark or Sweden. (The three Scandinavian countries are close enough to invite comparison, but don't let that fool you. It fools me all the time.)

Carl I Hagen and the Progress Party stand somewhere between these other two parties. They have secular libertarian roots, but also hold an appeal for conservative Christians. Hagen is more critical of immigration and Islam than Leijonborg, less than Kjærsgaard. They used to be more outspoken on immigration than they are now, though. Through several purges over the last ten years, Carl I Hagen rid the party of both its most principled libertarians and its wackiest anti-immigrationists and village idiots. At the time, this was seen as devastating for the party. The last crisis, a couple of years ago, ended their first period as the most popular party in Norway.

Now, all that is forgotten and forgiven. What remains is a very popular party (first or second, depending on the poll), with libertarian core principles, a sensible suspicion of multiculturalism, and a leadership with populist instincts. (The libertarianism has been somewhat diluted with social democracy and pragmatism. I'm not sure what to call the mix.) Like the Socialist Left, they have a strong and justified belief in their own grassroot credentials. And somewhere along the way, Hagen seems to have learned how to build a stable party organization, one that doesn't need to be regularly purged from above to function well. That's a vital step when going from a one-man's political list to a major, responsible party. The longer Hagen stays at the top, (he's been at it for 25 years), the better for the party, but it won't fall apart if he dies, like Pim Fortuyn's List did. I believe Siv Jensen will do a good job when she inevitably takes over. (Politically, I trust her more than Hagen, but she lacks some of his charisma. Then again, she's much prettier.)

A curious fact: Of all the times I've written about the Progress Party in this blog, I've never written the same thing twice, and I somehow always end up being more positive than the last time. I'm not sure what that means, but part of the reason that I can't settle on an opinion might be that I'm just about the only person I know of who writes regularly about this from the perspective that Norwegian right-wing populism might actually be a good thing. In the Norwegian media, the Progress Party is still analyzed as unprincipled manipulators and/or dangerous neo-libertarians, when they're analyzed at all. (Some former critics have become more silent, without offering any revised opinions.) Foreign media rarely mention them, of course. Haider, Le Pen, Fortuyn, Kjærsgaard - they're all more exciting examples of European right-wing populism than Hagen. So I might be stuck in my own personal feedback loop here, or I might just need some time to get it right on my own.
"

[Clemenza]

Far right parties in Europe never get more than 15% of the vote. Even when they surpass that (as Le Pen did when he got 22%), they get trounced in the run-off.

[Eurotwit]

But, this article lumps parties such as the Progess party in Norway (My party), the Peoples Party in Denmark, List Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands into the same batch as the BNP and Le Pen.

[Clemenza]

Europe will die a natural death even without immigration. White European women aint exactly producing children.

There are no more Romans, no Sumerians, no Hittites, no Canaanites. All of these once dominated their respective areas, but eventually disappeared. Such will be the case with white Europeans. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on one's point of view.