EURO-UNION POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK.
Part I. Prior to teaching us how to be tolerant, Europeans should have better overcome their own complexes, inherited from the colonial epoch

In the EU countries depicting Russia as a huge hotbed of xenophobia, national hatred and intolerance happened to be a sign of good form. Tendentious coverage of the European media led to the fact that every single national-grounded conflict in Moscow or St. Petersburg is becoming an occasion for the articles and broadcastings. At the same time Europeans prefer not to speak aloud about their own interethnic issues that have long ago become chronic and systematic. Meanwhile, ultra-right, radically nationalistic parties in Europe are not the marginal phenomena anymore, but rather the integral parts of the political systems of their respective countries.

"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye
but considerest not the beam that is in thy own eye" (St. Matthew 7.3)

In the EU countries depicting Russia as a huge hotbed of xenophobia, national hatred and intolerance happened to be a sign of good form. Tendentious coverage of the European media led to the fact that every single national-grounded conflict in Moscow or St. Petersburg is becoming an occasion for the articles and broadcastings. At the same time Europeans prefer not to speak aloud about their own interethnic issues that have long ago become chronic and systematic. Meanwhile, ultra-right, radically nationalistic parties in Europe are not the marginal phenomena anymore, but rather the integral parts of the political systems of their respective countries.

"Austria is for Austrians"

Two out of five political parties, present at the Austrian parliament may be easily considered to be ultra-right ones. During the previous elections they’ve been supported by more than 25% of the voters, so it wouldn’t be quite correct dubbing them to be marginal. Historical, cultural and linguistic closeness of Austria and Germany often becomes the reason for the erroneous confusion of these countries. Indeed, in order to understand the reasons of popularity of the ultra-right parties in Austria we have to analyze the situation by contrast with Germany, rather than by analogy.

After the Second World War Austria obtained complete independence only in 1955 after the pull-out of the Soviet troops. A year after that, new political power — Freedom Party of Austria — emerged at the political scene of the country, aside from the usual Social-Democrats and Christian Democrats (People’s Party). Nationalism was its ideological basis. Former members of the Hitler’s National-Socialistic German Worker’s Party (NSDAP¹) made up considerable part of its members.

Since the moment of creation, Freedom Party of Austria has never been left out of the parliamentary seats, though the most significant successes of the party are connected with the name of its ill-famous leader Jörg Haider in the period since 1986 to 2000. For the first time Austrian ultra-rights managed to get into the parliament in 1983, being in the coalition with Social-Democrats, who were unable to form the government without their help, as long as their advantage over the traditional opponents — Christian Democrats from the People’s Party of Austria — was minimal. Haider, who became widely known outside of Austria for his purely racist statements, had to leave politics, despite the 27% of the votes that his party got at the elections in 2000.

European Union sanctions became the reasons for that measure: they were imposed to Austria as a "punishment" for the position of the Freedom Party of Austria — unacceptable for the liberal Europe. As a result of the inner-party conflicts, preterm parliamentary elections took place in 2002 — Haider’s party obtained only 10% of the votes but still managed to stay at the coalition cabinet. In April of 2005 Haider left his own party and founded another one — Alliance for the Future of Austria. Newly-founded party was supported mostly in the Haider’s native region — Carinthia. However, transfer of almost all the leaders of the Freedom Party into the new one has led to the loss of seats at the coalition government. New Haider’s party, though, got only 4.7% of the votes at the elections’2006 and got only 7 seats in the parliament as a result of that. During the last elections in 2008 Alliance for the Future of Austria managed to get 10% of the votes, though, after the death of the party architect in autumn of 2008, positions of this political structure among the Austrian electorate have significantly weakened.

Heinz-Christian Strache, 40-years-old "true Austrian" (this is the way he calls himself) — in the past, active participant of the neo-Nazi movements — became new leader of the Freedom Party. In April Barbara Rosenkranz — presidential candidate from this party — has lost the elections to the incumbent President Heinz Fischer. She, however, got about 16% of the votes which is the evidence of the increasing voters’ support for the Haider’s rightist-extremist party.

In autumn of 2008 Austrian Institute of the Public Opinion Research has investigated the structure of the ultra-right parties’ electorate. It turned out that it is mostly men (58%) who support the Freedom Party, while women (52%) favor the Alliance for the Future of Austria. 33% of the Alliance supporters are under 30, while it’s just 25% of the representatives of the same age group who give their votes to the Freedom Party. Voters over 50 prefer the Freedom Party that has a longer political history. There also some geographical differences: supporters of the Freedom Party are mostly concentrated in the east of the country, while the supporters of Alliance — in the west and south. Laborers make up 54% of the Freedom Party electorate. Followers of both parties are characterized by having secondary (or lower) education and low wages.

Both parties have already been members of the Austrian government and both of them ground their rhetoric at the anti-immigrant, nationalistic basis. Social support of the ultra-rights has naturally increased during the period of the economic crisis. Voters prefer simple formulas and given the circumstances of rising unemployment rate, numerous "alien" faces at the streets of Austrian cities cause the sympathy toward such mottos as "Austria is for Austrians". Recent public opinion polls have indicated that about 20% of Austrians support the Freedom Party, while the Alliance for the Future of Austria is approaching the dangerous minimum 4% barrier. Two ultra-right parties are a little bit too much for the small country. In case if the Austrian rights would ally, every one of four Austrians would be their aggregate voter. And this is a serious bid for the significant result at the next parliamentary elections.

Who is France "tired" of?

When the second international "Convent of the national identity" took place in Provencal Orange last October, it became clear that France is an important spot at the map of the ultra-right movements of the Old Continent. Place for holding the forum of the radical powers from all over the Europe wasn’t picked by an accident. Jacques Bompard, mayor of Orange is an active participant of the national-conservative Movement for France. Primary goal of the European nationalists’ representative convent was the creation of the "Southern League" as an analogue of the Italian "Lega Nord²" that supported Silvio Berlusconi at the recent elections — it is headed by Umberto Bossi.

French regional elections in March have indicated that the radical rights have the most massive support in the northern part of the country. National Front, headed by Jean-Marie Le Pen, got 37% in Nord Pas-de-Calais and about 20% in the rest of the regions, having decisively disproved the forecasts of the political scientists who were predicting him to be defeated. Rights have thrown off Valérie Létard — number one candidate of the Sarcozy party — who was a favorite of the political forecasts. Despite the fact that Le Pen is over 80 now, decline of his party that started in 2007, turned out to be imaginary. Marine, leader’s daughter, who holds the post of the party Vice-Chair, is ready to take up the banner in case if her aging father would let it go.

National Front, created in 1972, uses the radical nationalistic terms. Party was founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen who gradually turned from marginal into a part of the French establishment — although not the most showy one — having increased his public support share from 10 to 20 (and in some cities up to 30) percents. Front has reached these successes as far back as in the middle of 80s and at that moment it had the greatest support in Alsace and in the south of the country. In April of 2002 France, just as the rest of Europe, was shocked when Le Pen made it to the second round of the presidential elections having the result of 17.85%.

Anti-immigrant bogeyman story about the disappearing of the European civilization has always been the favorite theme of the ultra-rights in Europe. The same thing is applied to Le Pen party. After the municipal elections that took place this year, Front’s leader stated that he is going to retire soon, while his daughter Marine — who won at her election district with a crushing score — is to take his place. The most curious thing is that there is no predominance of immigrants or peculiar crime wave in Nord Pas-de-Calais that she was a candidate for. In this area, just like in the neighboring Bormes-les-Eré and La Flèche, rights got more than 30% of the votes, though traditionally it was the ruling party that prevailed over there.

National Front has skillfully used the sentiments of the electorate, dissatisfied with the economic policy carried out by Sarcozy in the field of agriculture. Marine Le Pen has craftily aimed this displeasure, caused by the reduction of prices for the agricultural goods against the European Union and the government that turned away from the common people. "We have to teach them a lesson" — said one of the voters, who supported Marine. Scattered lefts don’t seem to be a convincing alternative for the ruling power to the French electorate so they can only choose from the ultra-right part of political spectrum.

However, there are those who consider Le Pen along with his daughter to be insufficiently radical. Bloc Identitaire³, created in 2003, defines itself in its charter as an organization, defending the national and local identity. Although, at the last elections Bloc wasn’t very successful, its rhetoric, nevertheless, appeared at the public political discussion. Fabrice Robert, leader of the Bloc and former member of the Unité Radicale⁴ that was de-legalized in 2002, never gets tired of repeating that Frenchmen are still the white European nation. On the 1st of March Bloc organized the "Day without immigrants" aimed against the multinational culture, featuring the motto "One day without them, why not 365?"

Social-political situation in Europe promotes the radicalization of the sentiments. Youth is willingly joining the ultra-right parties, having failed to find a place for themselves at the other political camps. They imagine Brussels to be a technocracy centre, neglecting the European values. In a situation like that ultra-rights are craftily manipulating the electorate, arguing about the cultural unity of the country, which is so necessary for the political stability.

By Gregory Tinsky

To be continued

¹ Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei.
² Northern League.
³ Identity Bloc.
⁴ Radical Union.