The Resistible Rise of the Far Right in Europe
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- Published on Friday, 17 June 2016 22:15
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1271 .... June 18, 2016
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The Resistible Rise of the Far Right in Europe
Walter Baier
The rise of the radical right in Europe raises many questions. The key here is the crisis of European democracies. To counteract this development, the Left is confronted with great challenges: overcoming mass unemployment and nationalism, and defending democracy.
The victory of the candidate of the Greens, Alexander Van der Bellen in the second round of Austria's presidential elections over the far right contender is certainly a reason for relief. In case the latter one had prevailed Austria would be the first West European country with a straight forward radical right winger as head of state; who moreover in line with Nazi tradition regards Austria as part and parcel of historic German territory,... which in itself not only contradicts Austria's constitutional law but also runs against Europe's post-war order. In any case, the extreme narrow result with a margin of only one per cent between the two candidates reveals the precarious state of Austria's democracy.
The following talk was delivered the day before the crucial run-off in Austria at the Left Forum (May 2016) in New York City.
The far right in Europe presents quite a confusing picture of a divided political movement. In the European Parliament (EP), it is split into three political groups, as well as a number of non-affiliated members of the EP. This is without mentioning Fidesz, Hungary's ruling party, which is without a doubt a radical right-wing party, even though it is a member of the conservative European People's Party (EPP).