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September 26, 2022 - 6:00pm
The rise of the Christian, ultra-conservative candidate Giorgia Meloni in Italy marks a strange split in European politics. Post-Brexit Britain is now in the minority of countries that have not seen a recent Rightward populist uprising.
The French election was disrupted by Marine Le Pen, the Sweden Democrats have ousted the centre-Left from power and Right-wing Vox have gained ground in Spain.
With the cost of living crisis worsening, culture wars raging and sanctions against Russia biting, will more countries fall for what some call ‘neo-fascists’? Or will certain parts of the media prove to be exaggerating the threat of hard-Right figures like Giorgia Meloni?
To try and answer these questions, UnHerd’s Freddie Sayers sat down with Ralph Schoellhammer, Assistant Professor of Economics at Webster University, Vienna.
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SubscribeWhat do you mean by ‘hard right’? Do you mean jackboots, one party rule and rounding up foreigners? Or wanting to hang on to national boundaries, culture and history?
Observing events over the past two or three years it seems to me that it is the far left who are itching to put their jackboots on again. They tried them on during lockdowns and liked the fit and feel.
Here in Australia, we have both sides stoking things but it is the left that worries me much more. Our indigenous Australians are pushing hard for their own “voice in parliament” which can be backed by the courts to give them the greatest say in the country. Could you imagine any European country where white people have an exclusive voice to parliament enshrined in the constitution. Add to this car stickers that have been on cars for years “Always has been, always will be, Aboriginal land” Now imagine the same sticker in any European country and there would be a massive uproar. If it is not right for one group to do something like this, it is not right for any group to do this.
MSM seem to forget that both Nazism and Communism evolved from the radical socialist realm.
“Post-Brexit Britain is now in the minority of countries that have not seen a recent Rightward populist uprising.”
Arguably the Referendum was Britain’s Rightward and populist movement. Just not an uprising. Perhaps, just perhaps, the latest Conservative policies are a step towards loosening the leftish Blob’s grip and moving rightward? Which is why so many are critical without much consideration.
The bias of Britain’s ‘first past the post’ electoral system makes it very hard for any populist movement to gain parliamentary representation. To repeat the often quoted results of the 2015 election:-
UKIP 3.8 million votes 12.6% of total 1 seat
SNP 1.45 million votes 4.7% of total 56 seats
.Hard right means nothing anymore other than “not a woke communist.” When a pol speaks in terms of natural law/self-evident truths/Biblical wisdom the “intelligentsia” is triggered. Do you actually have to be freezing and starving to get it? It isnt right-left anymore. It’s up-down. Feel free to continue to self -pleasure. I don’t know where FS is coming from anymore. Sounds like the herd to me.
”will more countries fall for what some call ‘neo-fascists’?”
will more countries fall for what the MSM, ( ‘our Psychopathic Overlords’) call ‘neo-fascists’?
Sure. Everyone’s about sick of how the Neo-Marxist/Fascist Left is destroying everything they can in the West.
the £ is pennies from being parity with the $! Thanks Truss – you just lost me hugely on my £ investments. Let us hope UK gets rid of the insane Tories – Farage, you are our last hope!
As Neil Cheshire demonstrates so well further up this page, even when Farage got one in eight of the vote it didn’t produce more than one seat.
What it did do was frighten Cameron into granting us a referendum he expected to win easily. That ended his career, but it didn’t help Farage at all. It gave us, after May, the unlikely triumph of Boris.
I don’t see any way, in our electoral system, that Farage could get power. I don’t see any way that ‘the Right’ could move onto the stage.
There isn’t anyone to vote for, you know.
I have stopped voting.
Meloni party is ultra right only in rafical chic propaganda.
She’s well aligned with the global agenda, and won’t even try any real change except dismantle the Basic Income.
Despite that she will not probably last long, as the upcoming colossal crisis will need a new scapegoat and another “technical”, probably of unelected bureocrats, guide to steer the ship
So this current will not lead to Italy leaving Euro so it can reform and devalue then build to export?
I listened to podcast. Mr sayers tried hard, to paint Meloni as a Fascist, and guest roundly refuted this. She is conservative.
Sayers tried to paint her as extremist on gender issues. Again, guest pushed back. Meloni resonates with average citizens, the kind that journalists, like Sayers say are ignorant, homophobic.. blah blah..
A semblance of objectivity from Sayers would be appreciated.
I agree with Meloni.
Sayers asked if this populist movement will continue….
Of course!! Look at the world! As guest stated, people are tired of government telling them what to do, as opposed to Govt being responsive to the people. I know liberals dislike this, they know best. All the special groups they must support.
Enough! One man, one woman, one vote.
God, country and family, as Meloni stated.
The will of the people will continue to be expressed, in spite of Von derleyden, Soros, WEF And UN.
Left/Right is false construct used to confuse the political issues. It is better to think Conservative/Radical where each is a circle (or sphere) that occasionally intersect, sometimes more, sometimes less. This is why MAGA came to be…persons interpreted in Left/Right false construct came from both sides to join MAGA because this is the Conservative Sphere.
So I think I have read about a right-wing uprising in a stable European country. A centrist prime minister (who gained a safe majority in an election) is overturned by a cabal of far-right government ministers – pictures of scandalous social events (in supposedly secret government buildings) are leaked to the press; then there is a financial crisis, power cuts and they call a state of emergency. No, it’s not a Len Deighton spy thriller. Even he couldn’t make it up.
Great discussion. Thanks.