The far right is on a roll. Donald Trump is racking up wins in the Republican primary in the United States. Benjamin Netanyahu is using the war in Gaza to extend his political control of Israel despite astronomically low approval ratings. And Vladimir Putin is preparing to steamroll to victory in the Russian elections in March.
But perhaps the greatest opportunity for the far right lies in Europe. Far right parties are already in charge in Italy and Hungary. After winning elections last year, right-wing firebrand Geert Wilders is close to putting together a ruling coalition in the Netherlands. The far right is likely to win elections in Austria and Belgium this year.
The real plum will come in June with the European Parliament elections.
“The Identity and Democracy bloc, which includes the major French and German far-right parties, is projected to gain more than two dozen seats in the European parliamentary elections this June,” I write in my World Beat column this week. “The European Conservatives and Reformists bloc, which contains the Finnish, Polish, Spanish, and Swedish far-right parties, will also probably pick up a few seats. Throw in unaffiliated representatives from Orbán’s Fidesz party and that bloc could become the largest in the European parliament.”
The military-industrial complex is the winner (not you).
AROUND THE WEB
At In These Times, Khury Petersen-Smith and Azadeh Shahshahani argue that the excesses of the U.S. “war on terror” laid the groundwork for Israel’s abuses in Gaza.
