The future of Europe is veering in directions not many envisioned when the European Union was founded. The Shenken zone has brought misery to many, wealth to some. But the unfettered passage of European citizens in the zone, and the large number of foreign immigrants that have landed on its shores, have created a powerful backlash.
Change is never comfortable. It is also not easy to deal with when it occurs quickly.
The adaptability, or lack thereof, of each member of the European Union have given rise to worrisome political trends. Many European countries, including France, are now on track to have a government ruled in part by right wing parties. Hungary is one example that comes to mind.
While Greece still simmers under the yoke of economic impositions by the European Parliament and Banking system, to purportedly bring it in line with the rest of the zone, other countries, like Germany, are experiencing an economic revival.
In the midst of the sea change that has occurred in Europe and the one still to unravel, right wing groups and fanatical citizens are operating to turn back the clock. The shifting demographics and the economic instability brought on by the European union, have also revealed deep nationalist interests, before unsaid, which is now fomenting not only radical groups and violence, but also the planning of a 'takeover' by right wing parties in certain countries.
New indications of the expanding threat of radical right wing politics is evident in the way neo nazi groups and fascist groups alike are uniting and organizing to gain access to parliamentary seats. In Hungary this is already a reality. In France, it could become a reality.
The Hungarian Party Jobbik, probably the most nationalist and racist of all right wing parties in Europe, not to be outdone by the Golden Dawn in Greece, the Lega Nord in Italy and the Front National in France, are working very hard to forge alliances with countries previously under Russian rule. As Ukraine nearly succumbs to Russia's attempts at dismembering it and gaining power over the lucrative bits, many European countries are pushing hard to establish influence in the political process to avoid any communist or socialist party from reaching the majority, or even worse from falling prey to Soviet expansionism.
But that is not all that Jobbik and other like parties, including racial factions and neonazi groups, are doing. What they truly are trying to do is to destroy the European Union and restore each country's 'identity' and expel most if not all immigrants that have made their home there.
The latest target of this pan-European right wing alliance is Poland. There, another right wing party, the National Movement is trying to gain a foothold. Although its numbers are yet to be significant, their doctrine is eye watering: homosexuality would be banned, no foreign interference, no immigration and more importantly a concerted effort to diminish the decade old influence of the socialist party.
The Polish National Movement is closely allied with Jobbik. Together, they are planning a strategy that includes intimidation tactics, fund raising and other political strategies.
In the wake of these ultra-nationalists parties, the growing concern and mobilization of minority groups who are a primary target of right wing policies and intolerance is prompting some to ask for better contrast to their growing influence, and more awareness of their dismal human rights agenda. Gay groups, Jewish groups, and immigrant groups are all looking at the nascent groups with apprehension. Violence has already been employed by these groups in several countries, including Germany and Greece.
The current campaign by the radical parties is eerily reminiscent of the times that gave rise to the Nazi period. The ideology is nearly identical. The rhetoric is nearly identical. The economic situation, unemployment and sense of helplessness are similar.
What is also similar, is the people's willingness to adopt these radical values. And that is because there is a great disconnect in many European Countries, between the government and its people. In Italy, unemployment is the highest it has been since WWII. Most young people, educated or not, some with more than one degree are all but shut out of jobs by the rampant nepotism and corruption of a country where a veritable system of castes has been created by inequalities and self serving policies.
What most of the right wing parties and groups have in common, is a hatred for all things immigrant and the policies of the Shenken zone. They consider Brussel's emanations as anathema to their very identity and serving the interest of banking conglomerate and foreign entities that do not have the best interest of their country in mind. However, most of the countries that are flourishing under the Free trade European zone, such as Germany, are also the countries that had the first resurgences of right wing intolerance.
What is evident, is that the problem is not so much the economic policies of the zone, but the change wrought by the large influx of immigrants and how their cultural and religious traditions are clashing with the ideals of the native population. In addition, as is the case anytime immigration is allowed to progress unfettered and unregulated, unemployment numbers for youth rises, as immigrants fill in the lower tiers of the occupational ladders. More and more, cultural division is fostering intolerance, even though many natives benefit greatly from the low wages immigrants are paid.
Of particular interest are the Balkans. If anyone sees echoes of the pre-war WWI political and ideological landscape, they would be right. The area with the most nationalist and separatist sentiments are exactly in the same zone where the pre-war tensions played out.
The virulent anti-Semitic views of many of the radical groups have disallowed their entry in the countries of Europe with a better human rights record. That however, does not take into account the incredible change that has occured in the French political landscape.
One of the parties that will actually gain seats in the European Parliament, the ultimate, coveted prize for all right wing and radical nationalist parties in Brussels, is the Greek Golden Dawn party. One of the most violent offshots of nationalist groups, the Golden Dawn is responsible for several killings or attempted killings, yet they have been able to parlay their considerable support and rising numbers in a run for European Parliamentary inclusion.
Interestingly enough, even with renewed efforts for cooperation and coordination, many of the right wing parties do not get along. The French and Dutch nationalists don't like the Greek Golden Dawn, whereas Golden Dawn does not like the Hungarian powerhouse Jobbik.
The problem is: will the division be sufficient to keep the nationalists from ascending to powerful position at home and in the European Parliament? Discontent in Europe is rising to deafening levels. As long as each country's government follows blindly Brussels' mandate and disregards the sentiment of its own people, nationalist groups will always have fertile ground on which to grow.
Although many countries in Europe have anti-neonazi legislation that bars similar groups, there seems to be a number of radical group that are inure to them. In Italy alone there are three fascist parties, and many radical right wing groups, who make absolute no secret of their ideological veneration of the original Fascist party, and yet none of these parties is barred from seeking seats or running candidates in elections. Among them are Ordine Nuovo, Polo delle Liberta, and Movimento per l'Autonomia headed by Francesco Storace.
Along with attempts to join the political process, radical groups are hard at recruitment and intimidation. In Germany, neonazi groups have a heavy presence in sports, where they try to recruit youth at sporting events from soccer to wrestling.
The larger problem with neo nazi and neo fascist groups, or any radical nationalist movement is not just the incredible rhetoric of hate, but the level of secret support they actually enjoy in the general population. Unemployed youth are joining the groups in droves, but also middle aged and older nostalgics are dusting long buried sentiments and ideologies.
Europe must address this growing menace, before it becomes a powerful presence in the respective Parliaments.
op-Ed :
Partial Source : Spiegel International/Romea.cz
4.9.14
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