A surging far right cements its place in Europe

[SpankMe]

The electoral win in Austria of a populist, anti-immigrant party founded by Nazis was the latest in a string of victories for Europe’s far right.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/surging-far-right-europe-austria-anti-immigration-rcna173398

If Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential election next month, he will find across the Atlantic a hotbed of political parties that share his rightward mix of authoritarianism, populism and extreme hostility to immigration.

This is the rise of the European far right, which reached a high-water mark on Sept. 29 when Austria’s Freedom Party won the largest share of votes — 28.9 % — in the national election. The FPÖ, as it’s known, was founded by former Nazis and wants to “remigrate” Austrian nationals with migrant roots to create a more “homogenous” society.

“The overall trend is unmistakable: The far right is gaining ground,” said Matthijs Rooduijn, a politics professor at the University of Amsterdam. European “far-right parties are here to stay,” agreed Cas Mudde, a professor of international affairs at the University of Georgia and the author of 2019’s “The Far Right Today.”

Some scholars trace the roots of this surge to two events: the global financial crisis of 2007-8 and the 2015 spike in migration into Europe, fueled by wars and unrest across the Middle East and North Africa. The economic crash left Europeans poorer, with crumbling public services and infrastructure. The border crisis added to that a rapid influx of people, many from Muslim-majority countries.
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What the hell can be done about this? Totalitarianism and religious zealotry in the middle east are causing totalitarianism and racism in the West. It's spreading like a disease.

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Let's not add to the autocrats by electing Trump. n/t

[regnaD kciN]

2. Frankly, I *wish* we lived in a country...

…where only 28.9% of voters supported the far right.