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Europes great shift to the right - Rise of anti-immigrant parties
While it was the mainstream centre-right that actually won the electionNicolas Sarkozys UMP took 28.5 per cent of the French vote, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconis People of Freedom Party captured 35 per cent, and Angela Merkels Christian Democratic Union took 38 per centfew traditional parties saw their vote increase. And the left and centre-left vote all but collapsed in many countries. In France, the opposition Socialists took just 17 per cent of the ballots, Germanys Social Democrats turned in their lowest result ever at 21 per cent, and Britains ruling Labour Party captured only 15.3 per cent, its worst showing since the Second World War.The colliding trendsthe rise of the far right and the lefts vanishing actunderline a fundamental shift in European politics, says Grabbe. In a way, its the legacy of 1989 [the collapse of the Soviet Bloc] catching up with the left, she says. They dont have a narrative of how to get out of a crisis like this. They dont have a clear ideology to offer. And faced with a choice between the discredited theories of the socialist past, and the rapacious reality of the free-market present, the majority of voters seem to have thrown up their hands in disgust. Going forward, the biggest question is whether the anger and apathy will spill over to national elections. (Germany, Portugal and the U.K. will all go to the polls within a year.) Despite the fact that the European Parliament now has the power to amend or abolish two-thirds of the EUs laws, voters in many countries continue to view it as a less important institution than their own legislatures. Its not treated very seriously, says John Curtice, a professor of politics at Glasgows University of Strathclyde. People use it as an opportunity to protest against the government or support smaller parties. Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2009-06-20 |
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