Phrases Not Used in Polite European Company?
Posted: Saturday, October 08, 2011
by Christofer French
Rain Dancer Associates, LLC
It’s not every day that you open a major British newspaper and read a headline like this: “Rise of the Fourth Reich, How Germany Is Using the Financial Crisis to Conquer Europe” Many observers are pointing out the same thing—though typically in much less blunt terms.
Underwriting the bailouts of euro zone members, Germany is demanding austerity measures and increased control: “There was forceful talk of Euro zone countries being coerced into balancing their budgets and reducing their debt through what [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel and [French President Nicolas] Sarkozy called a ‘true European economic government movement’. If such a plan succeeded it could make Europe look effectively like a German empire, with non-Euro zone countries such as Britain on the sidelines”.
If you consider the term “fiscal union”, it must be understood more completely. There are arguments over what the full meaning of it would be. However, even the most earnest doubters will agree that it is tending toward: one economic policy, one taxation system, one social security system, one debt, one economy, one finance minister.
When you see the word “one”, think German.
Strong sentiments but, Europe is indeed showing the first indications of becoming a new German-led empire.
As the economies turn toward the German state, there are also tunes being played, with reminiscent melodies of that which many do not wish to speak, yet everyone knows from whence they came. While politics don’t need to turn Extremist for these policies to unfold, nevertheless there are other storm clouds that seem to be forming on the horizon.
Extremist Parties
It’s a strange world when the term “extremist parties” is used as a more harmless term than the one it is cloaking -- Over 50 years after the defeat of the European fascist powers, this extreme political philosophy has returned to the continent, once again appealing to disillusioned voters.
France, Germany, Austria and Russia all have to contend with significant fascist parties. With support for fascism on the rise, the moderate parties that have governed since World War II have to make adjustments in their policies and philosophies to keep up with the center.
It's an understatement to say that fascism got a bad name during World War II, particularly for its militarism and its persecution of the Jews and other minorities. But, even its supporters lost heart when it lost to the allied western democracies and the Soviet Union.
Today, no Extremist Party calls itself Fascist.
Contemporary names range from the National Front (France), to the German People's Union (Germany), the Freedom Party (Austria) and National Socialist (a label some Russian politicians use to describe their own ideals). Whatever the name, fascism, carefully not used, is the intent.
Collins Standard Reference Dictionary defines fascism as "a system of government characterized by dictatorship, belligerent nationalism, racism, militarism, etc."
Tried in Italy from 1922, Italian fascism seemed at first beneficial. Its leader, Benito Mussolini, famously got the trains to run on time. He didn't persecute the Jews, but his troops did invade some neighboring countries and Ethiopia.
Hitler's brand of fascism was much more terrifying, partly because of added German efficiency. Hitler came to power by accident, receiving about one third of the votes in the 1933 election. His party was, however, the biggest single political party represented in the national legislature and so he was asked to form a government by the figurehead president, von Hindenburg. When the old president died one year later, Hitler's supporters had him proclaimed the Fuehrer (Leader), with absolute dictatorial powers. They say he was “democratically elected”, but one must remember the European system of bringing parties together to rule (unlike the American system) means that “king making” has real practical meaning. The rest, as they say, is history.
Severe Economic Problems – Unemployment and Poverty Open the Door
Since World War II, democracy has seemed ascendant in Europe, first in the west, now also in the east. But economic problems throughout the continent have led a new generation to look for simple solutions to complex problems, a recipe for extremism.
France first saw the rise of a fascist party under Jean Marie LePen. With about 15 percent of the vote, it may be impossible for a future conservative government to hold power without the support of the extremists. Austria's Freedom Party is the second largest party in the country and is led by the charismatic Jorg Haider. One who knows their history might remember that a charismatic Austrian played a role in German politics.
A turning point this year came in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, formerly a part of Communist East Germany. Here Gerhard Frey's German Peoples' Union received 13 percent of the vote. Cleverly using American election techniques and targeting the dispirited young (19-29 year-olds) and those over 65 (many of whom were members of the Hitler Youth), Frey's party came from nowhere and forced two other political parties out of the state parliament.
A Whiff of Weimar – “An Extremist Party on the Left or the Right, or Nothing at All”
The local leader of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl's party said of the election result: "I was astonished. We have experienced the whiff of Weimar here." (The Weimar republic was Germany's brief and ill-fated experiment with democracy between the two world wars.)
The same article pointed out that "about 17 percent of the population is ready to contemplate voting for extremist parties.... Researchers questioned 6,600 Berlin youths in high school to arrive at the conclusion that the majority would “rather vote for an extremist party on the right or left or none at all."
Germany's political system of proportional representation means that just five percent of the vote guarantees a political party a place in parliament (the Bundestag). Five percent of the vote can also mean that a small party can be the kingmaker. German governments are usually coalitions made up of one or more political parties. Without support from others, no party would have the 50-plus percent of seats needed to form a government, so smaller parties are often involved. Historically, the liberal Free Democrats (with anywhere from 5 percent to 12 percent of the national vote) has played a major role. By switching allegiance from one of the two big parties to another, it could bring down a government, forming a new one in the process without an election.
When hopeful and perhaps naïve onlookers protest that a broad election would prevent the rise of Extremism, one need only understand how “forming a new government” in Europe takes place.
The Free Democrats failed to get five percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt and are no longer represented in the state legislature. But the fascists are. They are only a minor party right now, but national elections scheduled for September this year could see them becoming a bigger force in the federal parliament. As Germany heads into a tumultuous election period, the prospects for Extremism look increasingly favorable.
Amazingly, Communists are in some ways in Second Position in Russia
It is in Russia, however, that right-wing extremists could to come to power first. Faced with increasing economic problems, more and more people are blaming western style democracy and the free market for their woes. Although the communists remain the biggest political party in the Duma (parliament), right-wing former generals command big followings and seem more likely headed for power.
Britain's Economist magazine had this to say in its July 11th, 1998, issue: "It has become something of a commonplace to say that Russia will never go back to what it was-to orthodox Soviet-style communism. True enough.
"Far more likely...if things continue to go sour, is that Russia will swing the other way-not all the way to fascism but towards something nearly as bad, a kind of “Extreme Nationalism”.
Neither Democratic, Nor Prosperous, nor Kind to its Neighbors
This quasi-fascism would also, in economic terms, be protectionist, corporatist and loath to privatize any more of Russia's ailing industry. “The press and television would be corralled. Russia would become an angry place-neither democratic, nor prosperous, nor kind to its neighbors. It is a nightmare scenario."
Of course, if you consider Russia and the European Union together, the fascist domination of both Russia and the European Union must be thought about. This is a scenario that no one really even wants to contemplate, but one that serious thinkers have to admit - is now increasingly possible.
(Simon Heffer, Daily Mail, Aug. 17, 2011)
(article by Melvin Rhodes)
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Thought provoking, researched and well written. I do not even want to contemplate . . .Note that when the allied democratic powers beat the Fascists, the whole world saluted. Fascism is an extreme solution in some minds. That represents a "last best manifestation of governmental strength". No matter what they call it, we should never forget that. Thanks for your comment.
In the circle of extremes, six o'clock is considered the 'middle', so when you go so far left or so far right they all end up at the same place...12 o'clock. Bondage is bondage, and extremism can ruin a country either way. Thanks for the article, it reminds me of something biblical:
'the borrower is servant to the lender". Hence, the cost of national debts, and the intent of the lender..Excellent. Yes. When you have a dictator who is militaristic and racist, it matters little what side of the political sphere he says he came from. Stalin killed 50 Million of his own people in the international quiet of the 30's, 40's and 50's. That didn't make the headlines, it now has made the books. Hitler got all the press between these two darlings.
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