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© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.European nationalists flaunt strength, buoyed by Trump win
By GEIR MOULSON KOBLENZ, Germany©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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Jimizo
“2016 was the year when the Anglo-Saxon world woke up. And 2017, I am sure, will be the year of the awakening of the people of continental Europe,”
After reading this, I think the comment that 2016 saw the UK and US as the two stupidest countries in the world is actually a generous thing to say.
The human rubbish they've inspired is sickening.
PTownsend
All nationalists everywhere should read T.D. Snyder's Bloodlands. A ramping up of nationalism and of people following demagogues with 'common accents' cannot end well. Except for the weapons makers. And undertakers. (RIP Edwin Starr)
katsu78
These guys might want to turn on their tvs and watch some of the protests coming out of the US. So far Trump's biggest accomplishment is uniting all the rest of us against him. He won his election in part by railing against Obamacare, and now going into office he's actually less popular than Obamacare.
I mean, that's some special-tier fail right there.
Jimizo
@katsu
A very good point but I'm sure the phrase 'fake news' translates easily into French, Dutch and German. This is a phrase much loved by Trump supporters and their leader likes it too. For a bit of variety, 'virtue signaling' when talking about protesters can be employed. Should those expressions not really hit the mark, 'snowflakes' is a nice one.
I'm pretty sure these politicians are well-armed with their own similar tactics whenever someone starts mentioning difficult things like stats.
donkusai
Protests against them are what leaders like this want. It's what motivates their base and allows an active minority to be able to control the agenda over an inactive majority. Nothing motivates like the feeling that you're under siege. If people actually realised that the quality of everyday life that we have today is of a level that generations past could not even dream of, if people were content, then movements like this one would be dead in the water. They've got to generate the hate and the outrage. While they're doing that, their supports will look at disgust at others without ever really looking critically at what leaders like this really stand for (simply doing so would be seen as betraying your nation/race/religion/ideology/insert-whatever-cause-these-fake-people-hide-behind).
And in many respects, this is one area where far-right movements are stronger than progressive movements. A progressive view is based on the idea of building on the good things of the world and moving forward. Everyone has their own view of what "forward" is, so it's very difficult to unite people. It's much easier to unite people to stop something. Get rid of Obama care? You'll unite your base. Put forward an alternate plan and you'll have disagreements everywhere...
elephant200
They want to get back their countries, I wish them success, good luck!
JeffLee
The establishment needs to figure out why these parties are so popular and respond to regular people, instead of just ignoring them or branding them as racists and bigots whenever the two sides disagree.
When it comes to immigration, free trade and globalization, the West's mainstream parties must start offering a diversity of alternative policies. Otherwise, they're gonna become irrelevant and then die.
mukashiyokatta
European voters and citizens are FAR more educated and informed than their American counterparts. Fascists TRASHED Europe in the 1930s/40s. So expect the European rightists to make NO inroads at all.
Zodiac
Considering I will have to vote for dutch parliament this year I loathe the idea that people will vote for Geert Wilders but thats their right I just hope people will make the right choice.
Aly Rustom
You want to be the master race and put everyone else in concentration camps or throw them out. You are nazis. Plain and simple.
I rest my case.
Best quote I've heard today.
I wish that were true, but if it were we wouldn't have had Brexit.
Let me just add one more thing- The whole concept of Europe is a racist one. There is no continent called Europe. Its ludicrious. Europe is a part of Asia, and there was a time in the early 2000's when Russia was flirting with EU membership application. Now we see that many former soviet countries all the way up to the Ukraine are now being considered for EU membership. Greenland was a member of Europe in the past and Iceland like russia flirted with the idea.
So what is Europe? What is a European? Where are the borders of Europe? The whole concept is arbitary and ridiculous.