Nationalist Parties Surge as Europeans Take Their Countries Back

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With the success of Donald Trump’s campaign in the United States and the passage of Brexit in the United Kingdom, Americans who watch politics are seeing debates framed in a way that is entirely new to some. This new debate framework does not pit Republicans and Democrats against each other, nor does it concern itself with liberals and conservatives. The battle that is brewing – nationally, and inside both major political parties – is between the forces of globalism and the forces of nationalism.

Modern Americans, before Trump’s candidacy, have never encountered a viable, strong nationalist candidate. The only exception was the presidential campaign of Pat Buchanan, who – interestingly enough – defeated Donald Trump to win the Reform Party’s nomination in 2000, and ran a campaign with the slogan “America First!”.

Donald Trump is America's most prominent nationalist politician in history, following in the footsteps of many European nationalists before him.
Donald Trump is America’s most prominent nationalist politician in history, following in the footsteps of many European nationalists before him.

“Nationalism” has been, since the 1940s at least, a sort of dirty word in American politics. University professors link nationalism and the Holocaust. Esteemed political commentators like Daniel Radcliffe warn us that nationalism is “scary as shit.”

In many places in Europe, nationalism thrives. Driven by concerns about the overreaches of the European Union, the influx of Islamism and crime, and Greece’s debt crisis, nationalist parties in Germany, Sweden, Austria, and France, among others, are seeing unprecedented popular and electoral success.

If their treatment of anti-EU Brexit- otherwise known as “a great night for anime Nazis, Trumpists, [and] dudes who say ‘cuck’ a lot” is any indication, the media will do their best to link rising nationalist parties and their members to Nazism, racism, bigotry, and hate. Instead of falling for this narrative, it would be beneficial to find out what these parties actually stand for.

One common theme shared by all four parties below is that they advocate for putting the needs of their country first- not the needs of foreign migrants, not the needs of multinational corporations, and not the needs of the politically correct media elites. This is seen everywhere from National Front’s embrace of protectionist, France-first trade policies, to Alternative for Deutschland’s calls for tighter border controls.

Though they have this in common, each party – like each nation – is individualistic and unique. Their history, their messaging, their electoral positioning and their leadership quirks all make them interesting and worth studying independently in greater depth.

Below, you will find analysis of four prominent, ascendant, and important nationalist parties in Europe to keep on your radar not only in 2016, but in the years to come.

National Front (France)

In the wake of a year of Islamic terrorist attacks in France, the National Front, France’s right-wing nationalist party, has made it clear who their enemy is: radical Islamic terrorism. Marion Le Pen, niece of party leader Marine Le Pen and a current member of parliament (MP), stated this in no uncertain terms: “either we kill Islamism,” she said, “or it will kill us.”

Marion Le Pen, France's youngest MP.
Marion Le Pen, France’s youngest MP.

National Front’s rejection to accept the Islamization of French society is just one of the reasons voters are finding them increasingly palatable. The party rejects economic globalism that has resulted in making French citizens worse off – globalization, argues Marine Le Pen, is a “barbarity” supported by “multinationals corporations and large international finance” that drives down wages for French citizens and makes it increasingly difficult for the French government to regulate its own markets. She has, much like Donald Trump, criticized trade deals – the Transatlantic Free Trade Area (TAFTA) specifically, which is currently being negotiated between the United States, France, and other European countries.

A young girl lies dead in Nice, France, after being killed in an Islamic terror attack. (via Daily Mail)
A young girl lies dead in Nice, France, after being killed in an Islamic terror attack. (via Daily Mail)

Immigration policy is one of National Front’s main appeals. The party supports tighter restrictions on immigration, especially in the wake of several terrorist attacks committed by radical Muslims. After a Syrian passport was found on one of the bombers in the Paris attacks in November, National Front vice president Florian Philippot said what many French people were thinking: “It is irresponsible to continue this welcoming of migrants.”

Marion Le Pen, herself a rising star in the party, believes that Islamist values and French values are incompatible. She has voiced her support for the banning the “burkini”, stating that “firmness against Islamist provocation is the best way to avoid violence.”

This rejection of politically correct language, willingness to confront globalist economic policy, and a belief that France’s immigration policy should put the safety of French people first has brought National Front a wave of political success in recent years. In 2015 the party received 28% of the vote in France’s regional elections, the highest share of any party. The party currently holds 21 of France’s 74 European parliament seats, the most of any party. And, in early polling, Marine Le Pen is neck and neck with incumbent president Francois Hollande in a hypothetical second round vote.

Sweden Democrats

They oppose open borders migrant policy. They have been attacked by the media as “radical” and descendants of “the neo-Nazi movement.” Yet, according to polling from January 2016, the Sweden Democrats are the most popular party in Sweden. The SD are currently the third most powerful party in Sweden with 49 members in parliament after collecting 12.9% of the vote in the 2014 general elections- more than double their previous result.

Party leader Jimmy Akesson celebrates on election night in 2014. (via Prospect Magazine)
Party leader Jimmy Akesson celebrates on election night in 2014. (via Prospect Magazine)

What has led to the rise of the SD? The migrant crisis has certainly contributed. In their report on SD, The Guardian reported the following:

Sweden has a population of less than 10 million, but it is projected to receive up to 190,000 refugees in 2015 – surpassing the previous record of 100,000 in 2014 and three times the number predicted by the centre-left government. It has taken more refugees per capita than any other European country and was the continent’s first to offer permanent citizenship to refugees from Syria.

This massive influx in migrants is, according to many, too much for the country to bear. Instead of catering towards the needs of the migrants, SD argues that the needs of native Swedes must be prioritized.

Sweden has, of course, been one of the countries hardest hit by the migrant rape epidemic. Formerly peaceful Sweden has become the “rape capital of the Western world,” according to crime data. Tobias Andersson at Breitbart has been collecting information about the migrant rape epidemic in Sweden, and his most recent report on the subject can be read here

Freedom Party (Austria)

He is a former aerospace engineer and gun enthusiast who promises to “put Austria first,” and after contesting a fraudulent election in court and winning the challenge, he is on course to be the next president of Austria. His name is Norbert Hofer, and the presidential candidate for the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) is currently leading his Green Party opponent in the polls ahead of the re-running of the presidential election in October.

FPO leader Norbert Hofer, center, is leading in presidential polling has proposed closing the border to migrants.
Freedom Party leader Norbert Hofer, center, is leading in presidential polling.

What has made Hofer and the FPÖ so popular? Hofer has done what many European parties have not yet done: he has succeeded in arguing for nationalist policies and ideas in a way that makes them seem like simple common sense. He has been so successful at this, in fact, that The Guardian has described him as a  “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” So where are the teeth in what Hofer and FPÖ propose?

Hofer has taken a tough stance on illegal immigration and the admittance of migrants: “Only about 20 percent of those affected are genuine refugees, and even they have passed through many safe countries to get here,” he said in April.

                “We have no option but to close the border.”

Austria, like every European country that has accepted Syrian migrants, has been plagued by rape and sexual assault. Earlier in August, nine Iraqi “asylum seekers” were arrested engaging in a brutal four-hour gang rape of a German woman in Austria. The incident was minimized in Austrian press, and went nearly unreported in American media.

 In addition, Hofer has voiced support for a burka ban, and in the wake of the Turkish coup, called for a temporary freeze on the naturalization of Turkish immigrants until issues regarding passport fraud can be resolved.

The election will be re-run in October, and Hofer currently holds a 52-48 advantage in national polling.

 

Alternative for Deutschland (Germany)

Despite being founded fairly recently in 2012, Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) has already seen electoral success that is only projected to accelerate. Before becoming known for its firm stance on immigration, AfD was founded primarily to oppose bailouts of poor Eurozone countries (like Greece) by rich Eurozone countries (like Germany). Since then, The Independent has labeled them as “scarier than Donald Trump,” and the Huffington Post calls their rhetoric “xenophobic and misanthropic,” but the German people are, in increasing numbers, seeing AfD as the party best suited to fight for German identity and stop the globalist-fueled creep of Islamism.

The public comment that has drawn the most attention for AfD has come courtesy of party leader Frauke Petry. In order to defend German sovereignty, Petry told a German newspaper, police officers should be prepared to “use firearms if necessary” as a last resort to “prevent illegal border crossings” by migrants. This comment, of course, caused the media and some German politicians to lose their minds, but a growing number of Germans are acknowledging that a nation that allows unrestricted immigration is no nation at all – especially when those migrants are bringing record amounts of rape, welfare dependency, and the explicit goal of outbreeding and replacing the native population.

Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) is the only major party to have called for an end to Germany's open-borders policy, which has allowed for the increasing Islamification of Germany and surrounding countries. (via pamelageller.com)
Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) is the only major party to have called for an end to Germany’s open-borders policy, which has allowed for the increasing Islamification of Germany and surrounding countries. (via pamelageller.com)

 Petry is unique in that she acknowledges the disparity in fertility rates between native Germans and Islamic immigrants. One of the slogans AfD has used to successfully attract voters has been “more children for German families.”

 In August, Petry and AfD embraced the idea that Germans should have the right to defend themselves with firearms: in a recent interview, Petry said that “every law-abiding citizen should be in a position to defend themselves, their family and their friends.”

AfD is poised to have great success in the 2017 federal elections. Rising from fifth place in the polls in 2013, they are currently polling third – and, should Germany’s globalist open borders policy continue to allow Islamism to import rape and crime into the country, that position has nowhere to go but up.

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