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9/10/06

Grey Wolves in Politics: The Immigrant Far-Right Joins the European Left

The Brussels Journal

"Grey Wolves in Politics: The Immigrant Far-Right Joins the European Left
From the desk of Paul Belien on Sun, 2006-09-10 21:21

The immigrant vote is becoming ever more important in Europe. In many countries foreigners are allowed to vote in local elections (in addition to thousands of immigrants who have been granted citizenship). In last spring’s municipal elections in the Netherlands the immigrant vote tipped the balance clearly in favour of the Left. Indeed, immigrants in Western Europe, who often migrated in order to enjoy generous welfare benefits, are rentseekers who vote in favour of maintaining the welfare systems of the states that invited them in.

Pim Fortuyn tilted Dutch politics to the Right, but I think this was only a temporary phenomenon, and would have been temporary even if Fortuyn had not been assassinated. Pieter Dorsman pointed out that, contrary to what the mainstream media write, Dutch politics has not turned Right, but I doubt whether the main causes are the divisions among the Right following Fortuyn’s assassination and the disastrous handling of the Hirsi Ali case. I suspect that European politics will swing dramatically to the Left in the coming decades, owing to the growing influence of an immigrant vote eager to retain and expand the welfare benefits."

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