Germany's far right

[PinkFinal]

https://www.channel4.com/news/the-rise-of-the-far-right-in-germany

 

[urban genie]

It's a big worry.

And one that seems to being Ignored

 

[Ric]

As long as they can consolidate their support into a viable political party, they’ll have the Tories support. If Hungary is anything to go by, at least.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Isn’t this the natural response to the negative realities of globalization and the economic depression that swept the world in the late Noughts?

The question is, will it gain critical mass in a western country of international importance, and if so, what policies will emanate from that power?

In America, we appear to think the checks and balances will take care of anything to ends up going a bit too far, but the Tea-publicans seem to be turning a blind eye to almost every aspect of its ugliness so far. Not encouraging, but then boiling the frog has never turned out well for the frog, even though he doesn’t know it until it is far too late!

One can only hope that the rise in nationalism is respected for what it is, policies are enacted to quell, if not quash it, and that more meaningful, humane and long term policies help make it crawl back from whence it came. If not, and it is given short shrift, then we are in for a bumpy 21st century!

 

[roj]

It's a big worry.

And one that seems to being Ignored

I don’t think it’s being ignored. It’s happening in Italy and France too. I haven’t read the link yet tbh.

 

[purplenose]

It's a big worry.

And one that seems to being Ignored

Foolishly ignored and more worringly fed by the abject stupidity of the PC obsessed Western European politicians. Those who continually scream racism at the mere hint of someone having any concerns about immigration.

The fools ignored what built in Germany in the 1930s and it lead to death and destruction on a grand scale. They are making the same mistake again now and it will end with the same consequences. There is going to be an absolute catastrophe and it will be rather sooner than most think.

This is why the EU is doomed and like the Soviet effort it will fail and there will be widespread conflicts.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Isn’t this the natural response to the negative realities of globalization and the economic depression that swept the world in the late Noughts?

The question is, will it gain critical mass in a western country of international importance, and if so, what policies will emanate from that power?

In America, we appear to think the checks and balances will take care of anything to ends up going a bit too far, but the Tea-publicans seem to be turning a blind eye to almost every aspect of its ugliness so far. Not encouraging, but then boiling the frog has never turned out well for the frog, even though he doesn’t know it until it is far too late!

One can only hope that the rise in nationalism is respected for what it is, policies are enacted to quell, if not quash it, and that more meaningful, humane and long term policies help make it crawl back from whence it came. If not, and it is given short shrift, then we are in for a bumpy 21st century!

Good post. It’s a reaction to inequality, actual and perceived. Together with a bunch of “professional” politicians who have completely lost touch with the people they represent and are more interested in what they can get out instead of what they can put in. That’s polarised politics as people look for a way to protest at the ballot box. The trouble is that this has brought us an even worse group of shysters.

As you say, Americans took comfort in the view that there were ‘checks and balances’ in the system but it’s hard to see where these are and how they’re supposed to be working at the moment when there’s a President about who most have serious doubts concerning his mentality and integrity.

The problem is that when forces like this are let out of the bottle, civil insurrection and war are rarely far behind.

 

[BobKowalski]

The AfD support is strongest in what was East Germany. In what was West Germany the Green Party is the party of protest (although it has become more of a mainstream party) and has more support than the AfD. In part this reflects the different cultural paths taken prior to reunification. The East was a literally a closed community for decades with the West having a more open, diverse path over the same time period.

This ‘closed’ attitude is also reflected in other East European nations and to some extent it is unrealistic to expect these Eastern European countries to make up for the lost decades under Soviet rule and to have the same attitudes as the Western European nations. How Europe evolves with these two contrasting identities - liberal and social democrat vs very conservative and intolerant is going to be interesting to say the least.

And yes I know the situation is more more complex and nuanced than this :)

 

[PinkFinal]

Can't help thinking Trump has given hope to these people. And the Internet has made it simple for them to disseminate their views.

 

[BlueHammer85]

Very depressing. 2018 and this sort of mentality is rife.