Far-Right Parties Political Fortune: Problems and Solution - Essay Example

 Far-Right Parties’ Political Fortune: Problems and Solution There is no doubt that during the last 20 years, there has been a major growth in electoral support for the Far-Right parties in many European countries. But these developments have not only made the extreme right field broader in volume, but have also increased the number of criticisms and debates. From decades, Right-Wing political parties are confronting the radical forces of communism and fascism. History reveals that far- right parties have suffered either by losing post-wars at the hands of anti-fascists or by losing civil wars. Italy post-war and Britain’s BNP is the best example. It is only in the 1990s that Far-Right entered a new millennium of political stability where they could face the challenges of their opponent groups, but still the success of the Far-Right is too ahead of them. We found most comparisons of today’s right-wing extremism with interwar fascist movements and Nazism rather wanting, and emphasised instead the diversity of contemporary manifestations, cultural and social trends, movements, skinheads and radical right parties. (Ware, 1996, p. 170) Instead of the old right-wing causes of 50-75 years ago-even of 30 years ago-a whole range of new confrontations, social problems and issues now appear to trigger responses on the radical right. There are new elements that are often hardly susceptible to the strong-arm solutions of yesteryear. Many of the new problems, in fact, may have no solutions at all, or at least few governmental ones that would not place democracy itself at risk. (Maerkl & Weinberg, 2003, p. 23) Present situation of the Far-Right Political parties Among the most important European political parties based upon conducting racist activities is the BNP (British National Party). (Race Equality Digest, March 2006) Europe’s extremist Right Wing parties after formation of groups within the EU, have come up with a new political group called Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty (ITS). (Spiegel, 2007) Composed of 23 nationalist members, ITS is defined in context with its anti-immigration and anti-EU Constitution policies. Might be this time the racist parties of EU have come up with some solid ground to overcome the barriers that are created by other opponent groups of ‘Race Equality’, but this time parties like BNP must have this fact in mind that the younger generation is heading towards the thresholds of literacy, awareness and ‘racial equality’. In order to influence today’s youth, there is a need of effective leadership, which instead of creating differences directly must develop and diffuse racial and ethnic differences in an indirect manner. It is evident from their extremist policies that ‘Racism’ has once more become a truly serious issue in Europe which upholds and manifests itself discrimination and social exclusion in the labour market. Such policies promoting racism and in other words ‘religious and fundamental values’ are evident in the form of segregation in the housing market, unequal opportunities in the educational system, in marked differences in general health and well-being between migrant categories and majority populations, and in differential access to power and influence. Social stratification along these crucial variables is increasingly becoming determined by ‘perceived race’, culture, ethnicity and religion. Far-Right political parties have invoked racism and have given a new thought in terms of building up a new ‘anti-Semitism’, in popular demands. In this manner they have coped up to curb immigration and to repatriate migrants, and in the rise of National Front parties and it manifests itself in persecution of migrants and minorities, in threats and hostilities aimed at these people and in acts of political terrorism that include assault, arson and even murder. These developments in the member-states of the EU were accompanied in the 1990s by persecution and exclusion policies aimed at several central and Eastern European states. (Maerkl & Weinberg, 2003, p. 97) These efforts have no doubt opened a new way of success for Right Wing political parties but they must have to consider the present barriers which the Right-Wing parties are confronting. If we talk about Germany, Far-Right politics have produced young gang members who have no financial problems and are relatively stable. In this manner the Right Wing is successful in Germany who have captured and targeted well settled individuals who also respect the law as long as it is not concerned against ‘foreigners’. (Neaman, 2001) This clearly indicates that ‘violence’ is the only thing which the Far-Right parties must be concerned about. After all it is the image that matters! Problems faced by Far-Right Political Parties Far-Right political party like BNP must be aware that modernisation in the form of ‘charismatic’ leaders not only helps maximising the chance of attracting local and national media coverage, but it also promotes their local political opponent party’s new policies and rising support. (Eatwell & Mudde, 2004, p. 63) Therefore the current scenario depicts a variety of problems for such parties in quest for respectability. The success of an extremist party depends upon its membership widespread and to how much talent it upholds in the form of members to stand in local elections. Election victories are often converted into defeats if the winning candidates do not fulfil the calibre or are not up to the expectations. Furthermore extremist parties face threats like image and modernisation problems. For example extremist right groups like National Front is always headed with the threat of ‘public image’ due to the reason that its’ supporters often mix with the more traditional members of the BNP. (Eatwell & Mudde, 2004, p. 63) Image Problems: Extremist parties’ major obstruction in promoting racism is the threat of image destruction in the eyes of the public. One crucial problem is that democracy can no longer legitimise itself by demonising the communist ‘Other’. Anti-Islamism is, in some ways, a substitute, but this helps legitimate anti-immigrant and nationalist sentiment, which in turn poses problems for mainstream parties. (Eatwell & Mudde, 2004, p. 3) Predictably, many extreme right and populist parties respond by stressing ‘Rights for Whites’ rather than for ethnic minorities, and legitimise themselves by claiming that they are the true representatives of the ‘people’ who are ignored by a distant Establishment (Meny and Surel 2002). They have efficiently captured ‘reputable image’ in the eyes of their people, but still what about those living in ethnic minorities? What about the opinion of those ‘whites’ who consider themselves ‘true citizens’ after spending decades. Since its all about image, therefore ‘non-liberalised’ Far-Right parties should seek new ways and means to mould their ‘liberal’ public. Talent shortage: The most common problem which the Far-Right extremists face is the talent shortage to acquire appropriate amount of ballots for winning. This shortage is evidenced by analysing publicised consequences of the collective choice of all voters over competing political campaigns. (Anderson et al, 2005, p. 3) Far-Right parties must seek talented individuals with the same feelings and emotions regarding ‘white rights’ to work in diverse organisations. The political party then must work constructively together in order to make flexible the party’s own organisational structure. (Elgie, 1995, p. 173) Confronting local authorities: One threat for the Right Wing politics is from those opponents who promote a positive climate for racial equality and welcome ‘multicultural society’ ideology, thereby supporting the ‘alien migrants’. The major threat is that such local authorities raise issues by legitimising public interests and concerns against ‘violence’ and of course ‘violence’ is the issue which has always been put under the name of ‘Right-Wing’ politics. Therefore, it would be better in the interest of Far-Right political parties to set themselves aloof from being violent so that their opponents would not get any chance of blaming and disrupting their public image in the name of ‘violence’. Organising against immigrants has always remained a notion for Far-Right parties; therefore, action could be taken in the light of anti-immigration laws and policies. (Diamond, 1996) Problems from mainstream parties and Media: Often by the time of contesting elections, parties engage in provocative marches and initiate rallies in areas restricted to ‘whites’. This situation is most utilised by the local authorities that negate ‘extremism’ and media. Instead of helping them out, media advertise their extremism. This media coverage not only attracts the modernised youth favouring equality and justice but these parties are also tagged as ‘Nazis’ by their opponents. In such situation the only thing that can favour Right Wing political parties is ‘charismatic leadership’. Charismatic Leadership: Extremist movements are movements of disaffection which are addressed to groups who feel that they have just been, or are about to be, deprived of something important, or to groups whose rising aspirations lead them to feel that they have always been deprived of something important they now want. (Lipset & Raab, 1970, p. 428) Extremist political parties like BNP’s leadership is hardly any more effective, therefore it is important to bring together conservatives and fascists, the like mind thinkers. In such situations where the more educated and established segments of European public and leadership have pulled away from right-wing movements, there is a need for an effective leadership style. Bridging the gap to acquire willingness of more and less educated preservatist groups is not an easy job. This situation can be aggravated by the classic instability of the smaller extremist movements which by their nature possess charismatic leadership movements. Solutions: Far Right politics has not emerged as a result of extremism. The critical ranks in extremist movements are not composed of evil-structured types called ‘extremists’, but rather of ordinary people caught in certain kinds of stress. (Lipset & Raab, 1970, p. 484) It is important to consider the ‘corporals’ of Far-Right parties, which are mostly working class. In order to improve the political fortunes, Far-Right parties must shun ‘Rights for whites’ notion and the use of young voters to integrate racism. The extreme right political family is made up of two ideal-types of party: the ‘traditional’ one, associated with the fascist tradition, and the ‘post-industrial’ one which denies any overt reference to fascism. The latter produces values and attitudes that are all adopted and are diffused easily by the novel issues and needs of post-industrial society. Therefore the second type is practised and implemented. Presently the extreme right political parties of Western Europe practise this type as they offer a valuable understanding of the present nuances and streams within this political family. (Betz, 1993) Today, Western Europe extremist right groups must take this opportunity to raise awareness among the public in the name of the demand for physical security from crime and violence, for a homogeneous and harmonious community, and for strong, reassuring leadership and institutions. (Bauman, 1998) According to Rankin (2004), “Right-Wing ideology scapegoats immigrants therefore I never opted for far-right racism for the BNP in this manner does nothing but present with a single-mind classification, not liked by others”. (Rankin, 2004) The solution of overcoming the negative consequences of ‘racism’ is the hands of extremist politicians who understand the need of being fermented in Western countries for a while, since post-1968, without finding a political interpreter to represent them. Today the surfacing of these sentiments of alienation and displacement could not raise the sentiments of those whites who are in favour of democracy or liberalisation. Even the extremists are unable to confront to the media when it asks about the demands arising from the ‘displaced and alienated’ electoral constituency. Therefore it is better to interplay between political supply and demand, as the conservatives could not push the new issues brought to the political fore too far because of intrinsic political/ideological barriers. There is a need for appealing, charismatic and uncontested leadership which could prevent or control internal factionalism and catch media attention along with the strategic flexibility to exploit whatever favourable circumstances might arise. The strong and appealing leadership together with the highest adaptability to strategic needs have been the keys to success stories of the extreme right winners such as Jean-Marie Le Pen’s FN and Jorg Haider’s FPO. (Kintz, 1997, p. 32) All the political leaders for success adopts characteristics that involve charismatic leadership, textual literalism, charges of official laxity or resistance to compromise. (Weinberg & Pedahzur, 2004, p. 69) One more factor that is at the heart of the process of extreme right endurance is the ‘crisis of legitimacy’ which appears somewhere in between declining of confidence in the public and the performance of the extreme right. (Maerkl & Weinberg, 2003, p. 150) Far-Right must present their notion before the public in such a manner that they are not considered against the legitimising bases of the liberal-democratic systems openly, they must persuade those people believing in individual freedom and represent through collective political parties that human equality are ‘not’ under attack. Instead of making the people realise about ‘inequality’ they must make them acknowledge ‘injustice’, not in a violent manner but by making peaceful and quiet protests. References & Work Cited Anderson J. Christopher, Blais Andre, Bowler Shaun, Donovan Todd & Listhaug Ola, (2005) “Losers’ Consent: Elections and Democratic Legitimacy”: Oxford University Press: Oxford, England. Betz, H. G., (1997) “The New Politics of Resentment: Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in Western Europe” In: Comparative Politics, 25 (1993), pp. 413-27 Diamond Sara, (1996) “Right-Wing Politics and the Anti-Immigration Cause” In: Social Justice. Volume: 23. Issue: 3. Publication Year: 1996. p: 154 Eatwell Roger & Mudde Cas, (2004) “Western Democracies and the New Extreme Right Challenge”: Routledge: New York. Elgie Robert, (1995) “Political Leadership in Liberal Democracies”: MacMillan: Basingstoke, England. Kintz Linda, (1997) “Between Jesus and the Market: The Emotions That Matter in Right-Wing America”: Duke University Press: Durham, NC. Lipset Seymour Martin & Raab Earl, (1970) “The Politics of Unreason: Right Wing Extremism in America, 1790-1970”: Harper & Row: New York. Mudde Cas, (2000) “The Ideology of the Extreme Right”: Manchester University Press: Manchester, England. Publication Year: 2000 Maerkl H. Peter & Weinberg Leonard, (2003) “Right-Wing Extremism in the Twenty-First Century”: Frank Cass: London. Meny, Y. and Surel, Y. (eds) (2002) “Democracies and the Populist Challenge”, Basingstoke: Palgrave Neaman Elliot, (2001) “Children of a New Fatherland; Germany’s Post-War Right-Wing Politics” In: German Politics and Society. Volume: 19. Issue: 2. p: 129. Rankin Aidan, (Jun 14, 2004) “Escape from Ukip: Tired of the Political Correctness of the Left, Aidan Rankin Joined Ukip. Becoming Right-Wing Gave Him a Sense of Excitement, Akin to Indulging in Sexual ‘Rough Trade’ but He Found a Bleak World of Bigots Who Hated Foreigners, Gays and Muslims” In: Magazine Title New Statesman. Volume: 133. Issue: 4692. p. 20 Ware Alan, (1996) “Political Parties and Party Systems”: Oxford University Press: Oxford. Weinberg Leonard & Pedahzur Ami, (2004) “Religious Fundamentalism and Political Extremism”: Frank Cass: London. BBC News, Accessed on Nov 13 -2007 from Race Equality Digest, March 2006, Birmingham. Accessed from Spiegel 2007, accessed on Nov 13- 2007 from Read More