European Radicalism: Who's At Fault? | European Market Watch | Elliott Wave International

Reports of right-wing radicalism in Europe are making headlines again. It’s not a new problem: Racist incidents, ethnic divisions, and right-wing political victories based on an appeal to racism and exclusionism began in Europe as early as 1997, when the Austrian extreme-right-wing Freedom Party got nearly 28% of the national vote for the European Parliament. Since 2000, however, the number of such episodes has increased sharply. In Germany especially, right-wing political parties are gaining influence, often “through threats of violence,” after their “shameful” success in 2004 local elections. Just this week, a town in eastern Germany, “fearing a major conflict with neo-Nazis,” has cancelled a music concert that was to be held “under the motto ‘Nazis get out of our town.’” The German Interior Ministry says that “the number of the ‘fighters of a 'German Reich’ rose more than 25% in 2003-2004,” and the number of crimes committed by them has gone up 10% (Deutsche Welle). And it’s not just a German concern. Last year, findings by the Council of Europe showed that, “racism…as well as anti-Semitism…has increased alarmingly in France. In Austria…racism is a part of daily life. Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia also indicate problems with racism.” (EUobserver). Poland and Russia are reporting similar trends; Polish “well-organized and violent” neo-fascists are compiling “black lists” of anti-Nazi activists and attacking gays, with police “turning a blind eye” at the violence. Moreover, now that the Polish National Conservatives have won the election, extremists are “exerting more and more political influence.”