Europe Of The Fatherlands
“ROMANIA’S first gift to the European Union – a caucus of neo-fascists and Holocaust deniers.”
The Rogarains are among us. And the Guardian notes that they are bringing gifts. Not for these migrants shiny beads and smallpox, but international fascism.
Of course, the far right was already represented in the European Union before the Rogarians were let in. But the arrival of the Rogarians might enable the nasties to step up their campaign for organised hatred.
As the Guardian says, the EU parliament’s rules stipulate that “an official caucus in the chamber needs to have representatives from at least five countries, and a minimum of 19 MEPs”. With the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU, this requirement can now be met.
So brace yourself for the Europe of the Fatherlands. This is the new face of far-right extremism. If plans go to plan, the Guardian says this collection of purists is expected to form its first transnational organisation next week by establishing a formal caucus in the European parliament.
"It’s pretty much watertight, although there are still a few imponderables," far-right Austrian MEP Andreas Moelzer, a founding father of the group, tells the Austrian press agency. "We’ve already got a common programme."
But do they have a unity that can carry them to victory on the wings of giant eagle?
This is questionable. For starters, there is the name. Or names. Corneliu Vadim Tudor’s anti-Hungarian, anti-Semitic and anti-Roma Greater Romanian party, which boasts a contingent of five MEPs, says the caucus will be named "Europe of the Fatherlands" or "Identity, Sovereignty, Tradition".
Did Hitler debate name changes so? If the fascists are to mass beneath a common flag they need a name that they all can relate to. Should Charles de Gaulle’s dream of a Europe des parties be the name? And note that de Gaulle was French and no Nazi. We suggest the caucus sticks with Nazis until it can settle on a single group title.
And there are other disagreements. The Guardian notes that Moelzer’s Austrian Freedom party voted against letting Romania join the EU. How ironic that the Romanians may now have given him a greater voice.
The paper tells us that Italy’s Northern League is boycotting the caucus because the league’s head, Umberto Bossi, cannot stomach the leader of France’s National Front, Jean-Marie Le Pen. A rift made all the more painful because Bruno Gollnisch, a French MEP and a deputy leader of Mr Le Pen’s National Front, is expected to lead the new group.
Such are the rifts. But it might still work? Swiss Philosopher Denis de Rougement once spoke of a gradual emergence of new "communities of mutual interests" that transcend established frontiers.
Modern communications make such things more possible. Bigotry can be organised. What of a social networking group called Europe of the Fatherlands, a kind of My-Space-Only.com for Nazis?
Anorak is written and edited by Paul Sorene
editor@anorak.co.uk
Posted: 8th, January 2007 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
