Rise of the right-wingers

Peter Foster is so right when he says, “The far-Right drumbeat has now become the constant knocking in the pipes of Europe’s politics at a time when the plumbing looks increasingly fit to burst.” (The Telegraph, May 19, 2016) There is disgust at the liberal elites well ensconced in the system yet out of touch with the peoples’ sentiments. Till not so long ago these right wingers were relegated to the sub-text. There but not in the mainstream. The proverbial back-benchers, so to speak.

We only need to look at the contemporary world movements to realise this rise is not a passing phase. It’s here to stay. The National Front in France, the Sweden Democrats, the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands to name a few. The demand is to turn inwards for strengthening the economy and the people as opposed to an open door policy pursued by their countries earlier. The stunning win of Donald Trump, is a case in point. The base was addressing voters’ fears. The fear of Muslims threatening the lives and security of the good Americans, the fear of immigrants taking over their jobs, the fear of toeing a politically proper line that has been and will continue to create a hurdle in saying what needs to be said. Rejected as a candidate who just could not resonate with the masses, Trump’s rise in popularity and bluntness in talking clicked with the people. It was a complete departure from the way how a presidential candidate was supposed to act and talk.

The UK Independence Party has been supporting closing of the nation’s borders to immigrants. Cameron had to resign on losing the referendum. This was followed by Brexit. Most important, to most, EU’s call for easy and free movement of the labour is equal to Britain’s inability to place any kind of check on labour moving in from member countries. Increased labour and those willing to work at lower wages means an overall reduction in wage rates.

Marine Le Pen’s party National Front has a hard-line anti-immigration stance. “Long before the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015, Marine Le Pen made a link between immigration and militant Islamism. In the immediate aftermath, she proposed to “expel foreigners who preach hatred on our soil” and to strip dual-nationality Muslims with extremist views of their French citizenship, a view traditionally associated with the far right.”  This was in addition to her stance to end free education for the children of undocumented immigrants. (BBC News February 10, 2017)

Angela Merkel had admitted that she may have taken a wrong stance on immigration policy. Germany took more than a million migrants in 2015. And she also signalled a change of tack in policy saying: “If I knew what change in refugee policy the people in Germany want, I would be prepared to consider it”.

“Faced with pressure from the EU to accept their share of refugees, officials in Slovakia, Estonia, Bulgaria and Poland have said they want to take only Christian asylum seekers or none at all. The nationalist government in Hungary even called a referendum on the issue for Oct. 2, and the results are practically a foregone conclusion: Hungarians are sure to reject the EU’s plan for refugee resettlement, further eroding the union. Even in Germany, where shame over the Nazis has long provided resistance to the pull of nationalism, the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) has broken into the mainstream. In a local election in early September, the AfD got more votes than the conservative party of Chancellor Angela Merkel in her own electoral district (both finished behind the Social Democrats). In another local election, held in Berlin on Sept. 18, Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union recorded its worst result in the capital ever.” (Time: September 22, 2016)

The world also saw the rise of Geert Wilders, a known anti-Islam politician. Wilders led a chant against allowing Moroccans in 2014 to live in Netherlands. He was found guilty of inciting discrimination. As per a news report of Independent “Mr Wilder’s allegedly vowed to “take care” of immigration.” In August, Mr Wilders said “he wants to ban all Islamic symbols, mosques and the Quran from the Netherlands, as part of a “total de-Islamification”. Under the PVV, politicians say refugee asylum centers will be closed, and borders shut to migrants from Muslim countries.”

What we see is an emerging pattern in the rise of the right winger parties and their radicalised leadership. The common thread running is an opposition to immigrants. They are viewed as a threat to host country’s cultural fabric as well as a threat to their own job security. The European integration was seen to have weakened national ability to control policies in line with national needs, substantially affecting their sovereignty.

Each nation’s rise of its right wingers though different in flavour does share common ingredients. These include (among other stances that may be individual to a nation) a very strong ant-immigration stance. The narrative against increasing immigration is its impact on demographics, questions related to national identity and pressure on prevalent welfare system thereby ‘snatching away’ benefits from the ‘rightful locals.’

Increasing immigration directly or indirectly also supports upholding the host countries cultural values as opposed to a multi-dimensional cultural base. It also shares the resistance to existing established political parties that may be “politically correct” but are seen to have failed the state in addressing contemporary and changing issues.

To quote an example, The Lega Nord in Italy abhors the US’ “melting pot” model. In its leader Umberto Bossi’s words: ‘o transform Italy into a “multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-religious country” modelled after the US mean[s] to keep Italy divided. For “excessive cultural differences, especially if expressed by skin colour, are fatal for social peace. When streets and places are full of collared people” citizens no longer feel at home and lose their identity.’ (Betz, Hans-Georg Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe (Macmillan: London, 1994) p. 122)

Politics are driven by economics. Not only economics but also pandering to the fears of their voters. The mainstream parties need to create a balance in their immigration policy approach. Understanding and addressing the voters’ concerns rather than glossing over them. Reinforcing their message via education, via social media, via media and via all other forums available. Multi-culturalism can be enriching, not diminishing.

“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” 
― Franklin D. Roosevelt