日本語
English
中国語
by David Parmer / Tokyo
From frozen Sweden in the north to sunny Greece on the Aegean, European right wing parties are gaining strength. Are they a form of “loyal opposition” or are they fascists again threatening the rule of law, democracy and racial and ethnic diversity? Here is a quick country by country sample.
Sweden: The Sweden Democrats, a nationalist, socially conservative party, came in third in the last general election in 2014 securing 49 parliamentary seats. According to Reuters they are the country’s largest party with 25% support. One of their proposals is to cut by 90% the number of asylum seekers coming to Sweden.
Denmark: The Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti, DF) another socially conservative and nationalist party of the right took 21% of the vote in the 2015 elections in June. It is Denmark’s third largest party and takes a tough stance on Muslim and African immigration and migrant workers from eastern Europe.
Finland: The Finns Party got 17% of the vote in the 2015 elections and has 38 parliamentary seats. It is described as right leaning but centrist espousing conservative social values and is against unrestricted immigration. They also oppose multiculturalism. (Wikipedia)
Norway: The Norwegian Populist party also stresses family values and a strict immigration policy. A 2015 UN report urged Norway to take right wing extremism seriously and investigate it as hate crimes.
France: The National Front Party which promotes French nationalism, social conservatives, anti-immigration and anti-globalization. Known for its charismatic leader Jean Marie LePen, later replaced by his daughter Marine Le Pen. Reports suggest Ms. LePen is trying to make the party more appealing to the center by playing down its radical past.
Greece: The Golden Dawn is perhaps the most worrying of the European right wing groups. It is blatantly neo-Nazi and has an extensive economic and social plan. The GD is accused of engaging in anti-Semitic and anti immigrant activities.
The political right in today’s Europe extends from the simply nationalistic and socially conservative to the anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic and, in the case of Greece, blatantly neo-Nazi. Right wing sentiment also exists in Germany, Austria, Spain and even in the United Kingdom.
The so-called migrant crisis of the summer of 2015 has galvanized the right in Europe. Unless the European Union comes up with a plan quickly to handle the situation there is a real possibility of an unprecedented backlash across the continent.
Things are quiet now, but it is really a question of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Something will happen. It is just a question of time.