New Group of EU Neocons to Push Far-Right Agenda in EU parliament
The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU on Jan. 1 had an unexpected side effect: It allowed for the likely formation of a new, far-right European parliamentary group. A motley association of extreme-right wing members of the European Parliament (MEPs) announced they will form a parliamentary group, enabling them to qualify for EU funding and support. The group, to be called "Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty" (ITS), will broadly oppose immigration, Turkish accession to the EU, and the European constitution. It will focus on "defending Christian values, the family, and European civilization," EU French National Front MEP Bruno Gollnisch who formed this group in the EU parliament said. The coalition is made up of a number of extremists who have long sought the chance to forge a political group, which under EU rules must comprise 20 members from at least five different political parties. The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU on Jan. 1 boosted the ranks of far-right MEPs in Strasbourg, making such a coalition possible.
While the 20-odd members represent the European political extreme, their actual power is expected to be very limited. There are a total of 732 MEPs in the European Parliament.
Editorial note EU-Digest: Even though this neo-conservative group is only small now it is a growing and dangerous political development in Europe. The success of European Neocon politicians like Geert Wilders (the Netherlands), Jean-Marie Le Pen (France), Gianfranco Fini (Italy), Joerg Haider (Austria) and others is a clear indication that these politicians have been able to capitalize on the inability of more moderate politicians to articulate the benefits of the EU. Looking back in history let us not forget that Hitler also decided to seize power constitutionally rather than by force of arms. The Nazis gradually devised an electoral strategy to win northern farmers, white collar, lower middle class and the peasantry voters in small towns, which produced a landslide electoral victory in September 1930 (a jump from roughly 3% to 18% of the votes cast). The people who voted for Hitler's Nazis' were nationalistic in their political views and feared that the depression and the Jews would deprive them of their standard of living. In religion, most of the Nazi supporters were Protestant Christians. Similarities between the political situation in 1930 Germany and todays political developments in Europe are real. Hitler used the Jews and democratic forces as the scapegoat to instill fear and to consolidate his power. Today's neo-conservative politicians in Europe use nationalistic populist slogans about the dangers of immigration and terrorism to instill fear among the same segment of voters Hitler courted in 1930 to achieve power. The last thing the neo-conservatives would want to see is that the EU gets a constitution to put its house in order. The neo-conservative threat is real and if it is not countered by Europe's more moderate politicians, it will become a slowly spreading cancer destroying the EU ...one of the greatest political experiments in modern times.
1 comment:
The danger exists if and when those who see a problem sit back and do nothing. All the Austrians are trying to do is preserve the country before it becomes a third world mess.
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