The World Today - The rise of the far right

EDMOND ROY: The rise of far right extremism, which has resurfaced in Europe and Australia, continues to impact the course of mainstream political discourse around the world. For the far right, the issue of immigration has often been their initial focal point, which has helped them gain electoral success, but a subsequent broadening of their concerns has seen their influence move into areas of political priorities and public policy. Professor Martin Schain is Director of the Center for European Studies at New York University. In Australia for a conference on the prospects for the Far Right, Professor Schian has been telling me all mainstream political parties are to blame for the continuing influence of right wing extremists in society. MARTIN SCHAIN: It's a phenomenon that emerged in western Europe somewhat in the 1970s, more in the 1980s, and has kind of platformed out in the late 1990s and the early part of the 21st century. It's very much linked to the new immigration, even though the phenomenon emerged after immigration was suspended in most West European countries. It's a reaction to the emergence of Western Europe, or West European countries, as multicultural societies, so that's one part of it. But of course it hasn't emerged in every country. It's emerged in some countries, and where it has and where it hasn't emerged is very much related to the strength of the party system in each particular country. EDMOND ROY: Now have you been looking at Australia at all? And if so, have you looked at the impact of such policies, as it were, into the mainstream political discourse.