>The far right and the far left are both growing in Europe.
The far-right consists of anti-immigration people. That's not far-right. That was a normal centre-right opinion just a few decades ago. It's definitely not Fascism despite the implication.
The far-left consists of people wanting to protect their government pension funds, green activists and people who do not like meddling by the likes of the IMF and WB. That's not far-left either. They definitely aren't communists.
It's ridiculous how the media portrays these mostly sane political opinions as extremes held only by extremists.
Jobbik[1] are now the third biggest party in Hungary. Their candidates are openly anti-semitic[2]. They want to return Hungary's borders to those of the pre-WWI Kingdom of Hungary. They put up statues to military commanders who were allies of Hitler. It would be a big mistake to call Jobbik just an anti-immigration movement.
I agree that there are very few far left parties in Europe with any number of elected politicians.
[2] >In a newsletter published by a group calling itself "The trade union of Hungarian police officers prepared for action", the following was allegedly printed: "Given our current situation, anti-Semitism is not just our right, but it is the duty of every Hungarian homeland lover, and we must prepare for armed battle against the Jews." The editor of the union, Judit Szima, was a Jobbik candidate in the upcoming election for the European Union parliament. Haaretz alleged Szima "didn't see anything wrong with the content of the article."
>The far-right consists of anti-immigration people. That's not far-right. That was a normal centre-right opinion just a few decades ago. It's definitely not Fascism despite the implication.
I think Golden Dawn waving Swastikas around counts as fascism, even if some of the other right-wing parties in Europe are more tiptoeing around it.
I honestly doubt real fascism will make any great gains until the financial elites feel their masters of the universe positions threatened, at which point some of them will throw their lot (and considerable wealth) in with the far right and ramp up the rhetoric and the violence. That's when things are going to get scary real fast.
We're not there yet, but the potential is growing very quickly. The fusion of a lot of cash, a paranoid elite and a bunch of terminally unemployed very pissed off young people is explosive.
>The far-left consists of people wanting to protect their government pension funds, green activists and people who do not like meddling by the likes of the IMF and WB. That's not far-left either. They definitely aren't communists.
There are communists in Europe, but yes, what is designated far left by the media these days is pathetically middle of the road by historical standards. Syriza's a mildly lefty damp squib.
>It's ridiculous how the media portrays these mostly sane political opinions as extremes held only by extremists.
Of course.
That said, left/right/far left/far right are all relative terms.
I upvoted you because of the interesting historical context, but I'm not sure it is sensible to imply that anti-immigration stances are not reprehensible.
If anti-immigration is as a result of racism, that's one thing - but politics is a broad spectrum and I don't think it is sensible to close down the underlying debate on the topic by stigmatising those who believe immigration is an issue.
The far-right consists of anti-immigration people. That's not far-right. That was a normal centre-right opinion just a few decades ago. It's definitely not Fascism despite the implication.
The far-left consists of people wanting to protect their government pension funds, green activists and people who do not like meddling by the likes of the IMF and WB. That's not far-left either. They definitely aren't communists.
It's ridiculous how the media portrays these mostly sane political opinions as extremes held only by extremists.