In May the serfs citizens of the European Union will go to the polls to express their party preferences for the European Parliament. The EP is largely powerless — the European Commission is the only body in which authority is vested to propose legislation; the parliament is allowed merely to vote for or against such legislation. Still, significant across-the-board gains by the “xenophobic” parties will have a profound effect on the political culture of the EU.
The following report from the Austrian newspaper Die Presse provides an overview of the prospects for various nationalist parties in the upcoming EP elections. Many thanks to JLH for the translation:
No Uniform Victory for Rightist Parties in the EU
Die Presse, March 24, 2014
Along with successes like the Front National in France, some rightist parties have also had some setbacks. Die Presse gives an overview.
Great Britain. British nationalists are on the upswing. The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), which favors withdrawal from the EU, can count on 25% of the vote in the European elections, and could pass the ruling Tories.
Netherlands. The Freedom Party (PVV) is presently experiencing a loss in popularity among voters due to a controversial remark by its leader, Geert Wilders. He promised to “administer away” Moroccans, which led to comparisons with the National Socialists. A wave of withdrawals from his party followed. The PVV fell in the polls from first to third place, behind the Social Democrats and the Right Liberals.
Belgium. Right-wing Vlaams Belang‘s appeal remains low. The party of Flemish nationalists would like to found a rightist faction in the EU parliament with Front National, PVV and other parties, including the FPÖ.
Hungary. Hungary’s radical rightists are clearly more successful. The nationalist Jobbik can count on 15% of the votes in the parliamentary elections on April 6th. For the campaign, the party, which is in third place, has walked back its extremist slogans, and is looking stronger now with social themes. Jobbik is also expected to do well in the European elections in May.
Italy. Following scandals, the rightist, separatist Lega Nord is painfully battling its way out of crisis. Recently, it scored with an unofficial independence referendum in the north Italian Region Veneto. But in any case, Lega Nord is only expected to get 4.4%.
Austria. In spite of its holding a limited number of offices in Carinthia, the FPÖ could make notable gains in the European election. Polls show it on a par with ÖVP and SPÖ. To be sure, a very recent poll published by the news magazine Profil shows FPÖ in just third place with 20%. But even that would be a substantially better result than in the 2009 European election (12.7%).
Sweden. The xenophobic, right-populist Sweden Democrats can also expect gains. After the party entered parliament for the first time in 2010 with 5.7% of the vote, its poll ratings rose to 10%. With that, they passed the Greens to take third place nationally.
Finland. With their rejection of EU financial aid to Portugal and their criticism of the EU, The Finns (previously True Finns) noticeably gained popularity in the parliamentary election of 2011. They became the third-strongest party. In the meantime, recent polls show them at 15.9%.
Greece. The crisis has also endowed the radical right party in Greece — Golden Dawn — with considerable growth. Even the involvement of some of its party members in criminal activities did not change that. The party can expect 12.6% in the European election.
Slovakia. The Slovakian National Party (SNS) just missed re-entry into parliament in the elections of 2010 with 4.6%. So it cannot build on previous successes. It is predicted to get a mere 4% in the European election.
Re. Holland.
There’s no point crying about the state of affairs they find themselves in if they’re not prepared to take steps to address their problems!
And if the thought of politicians taking administrative steps to reduce immigration and to repatriate immigrants who have committed criminal offences etc. is too much for them to deal with, then they might as well grow a beard and tell the wife to don a burka RFN.
Not just holland – the same abject cowardice/wishful thinking is prevalent throughout the west (nb – no capitals!!). The solution to the problem is as easy as marking a cross yet the pathetic western weaklings prefer meekness.
“40% of Italians want to dump the euro and return to the lira as their national currency”
That sounds UKIPPY enough for me..If the Lega Nord plays it’s cards right that’s where they’ll start.
The Lira? Do you remember the Lira? When you changed up your sterling at any Italian airport you needed a wheel barrow to take it away. No, I wasn’t referring to the Turkish Lira either.
“Sweden. The xenophobic, right-populist Sweden Democrats can also expect gains. ”
I actually laughed when I read that.
Not too biased, are you Die Presse?
“the parliament is allowed merely to vote for such legislation”
There, corrected that for you. The EP is not allowed to do anything but rubberstamp EC regulations, which are law in all member states when passed.
Greece – Golden Dawn
“Even the involvement of some of its party members in criminal activities did not change that”
What happened to the “alleged”? As in “alleged involvement”…..
Six MPs are being held (the equivalent of denied bail) pending trial (up to 18 months from arrest). They are not allowed to vote in Parliament (i.e. no prison transport provided to and from Parliament). And the party’s funding from the Government has been cut off (Parliament vote of all other parties) based on these as of yet unsubstantiated charges. The existing evidence (on which the 6 are being held) has been released to the public and they are a joke – paintball guns, a few shotguns with no hunting license, 30,000 euros in cash at the home of the head of the party and videos of civic actions – (such as permit inspections of (flea?) market vendors in front of police and after refusal of police to act – do their job).
As far as the euro-MP elections: They are held the same weekend as the elections for mayors. We expect a 3x of their previous performance and no one will be surprised if they get around 20% of the vote. The EU does NOT want these people in the European Parliament because it will remind them every day that the EU fiscal/economic policies brought them there. The EU is pushing the Greek government to have them outlawed. The Greek constitution does not allow parties to be outlawed. Citizens refuse to say that they are going to vote for this party so they are not targeted. In the newspaper polls, the undecided vote is 30-40% because of this.
Summary… we expect to see a world first – the election of a mayor while he is in prison.
And… 25% of the Greek euro-MPs coming from Golden Dawn.
I wonder if we had a “world’s first” when Jesse Jackson Jr. was re-elected to congress while in a mental facility. I believe he and his wife ended up going to jail for spending campaign $ for personal goodies.
Also, didn’t a union president get re-elected while in prison?
>”we expect to see a world first – the election of a mayor while he is in prison.”
During the final third of the 19th century, in Georgia, (I mean the state of Georgia, in the southeastern United States,) at least one convicted felon was elected to the United States Congress in Washington, a place he could not actually visit due to his being locked behind bars at the time.
I believe he was reelected when his two-year term was over, despite still being in prison.
This was in the aftermath of the American Civil War, and he was a diehard Confederate.
Mayors in jail? A proud old Democrat tradition in Boston, where the Dem machine reigned for a generation or more.
Hizzhonor Michael Curley not only campaigned from jail but was re-elected. And eventually served a term as governor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Michael_Curley