For months now, Walt has been reporting on the rise of parties of the "populist right". (There are so many terms in use now -- conservative, neo-conservative, libertarian, right-wing, alt-right etc -- that I'm trying for one phrase which encompasses all the groups and movements whose goal is to overturn the socialistic, politically correct, one-world orthodoxy of the liberal elites, so "populist right" it shall be, at least here on WWW.
Spurred on by the success of the Brexit referendum and the election of President Donald Trump -- still going strong half-way through his first term -- parties that represent the real people who have been the silent majority in Europe and North America have won several sub-national and national elections, and are poised to take power soon in such bastions of liberalism as Germany (Goodbye, Angela Merkel!) and Canada (Good riddance, Justin Trudeau!)
Which brings us to Spain. [What?! Ed.] Yes, you heard right, friends. It wasn't so long ago that Deutsche Welle, the official German broadcaster, featured a story headed "Spain proves sterile ground for far-right parties". I love it when analyses such as that come back to bite the writer in the bum, and that's what happened in the Spanish province of Andalusia this weekend, when the populist right Vox party made huge gains in the provincial election.
In a result which the same Deutsche Welle says "has shaken Spain's political foundations", Vox won 12 seats (out of 109) in the elections, marking the first time they've made it into a Spanish parliament.
Political scientist Eduard Güell, the "unbiased" political scientist quoted by DW, says the fact that it happened in Andalusia, which has been ruled by a social democratic party since 1982, was all the more surprising.Until now, it seemed that Spain was somehow immune to the electoral rise of the populist right, like Germany's Alternative für Deutschland, Italy's League and many others. See "People's Parties on the rise. Are you in?", WWW 21/9/18
Why did Vox win bigly? An anonymous voter told Deutsche Welle's reporter, "[Vox] are the ones who have prioritized the defence of our homeland." Right! Defence of the homeland. Defence against what or who? The foreign invaders, possibly? [What? Who? Ed.] Do I have to name them? In the video you'll hear them called "migrants". What is meant is... wait for it... Muslim "refugees" and asylum-seekers. See "Saint James Matamoros, Spain needs you again!", WWW 29/7/18. Includes video on how Saint James the Great came to be called "Matamoros".
What does this mean for the future of Spain, and of Europe? Prof Güell concedes that most polls predict that Vox will make similar gains at the national level. "All signs indicate that Vox has come to stay," told DW. In his opinion, "one cannot understand how the far right has erupted in Spain without understanding the European and international perspective and how these populist far-right parties communicate and feed off each other."
Why so? Because -- this is Walt talking now -- border security and keeping out those who would replace our culture and way of life with their alien laws and ideology is the chief concern of the majority of "real people" in every country of Europe and North America! It is no surprise to me that the populist right is on the rise. The only question is whether we, the people, will rise up soon enough and strong enough to save our civilization.
Further reading: "Will the radical right consolidate power in the heart of the EU this year?" by Cas Mudde, in the very liberal Guardian, 11/1/19.
Walt's answer to the question, noting that Marine Le Pen's Front National stands at 24% in French polls, compared with 17% for Emperor Macron's party, and that Matteo Salvini is far and away the most popular politician in Italy, is YES! `tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.
Further viewing: "Bannon vs Frum: The future of Western politics is populist", WWW 16/11/18 - Complete video of the now famous debate.
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