Well, that’s a shock. The French “far right” political party National Front (redubbed “National Rally”) is now France’s second largest political party. From John Irish at Reuters:
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s far-right scored a historic success in legislative elections on Sunday increasing its number of lawmakers almost tenfold and cementing the party’s rise from fringe status to the mainstream opposition.
Since taking the helm of the party in 2011, leader Marine Le Pen has sought to rid the National Front – now called the National Rally (RN) – of the anti-Semitic image it acquired under the nearly 40-year leadership of her father, ex-paratrooper Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Securing 42% in April’s presidential election, Le Pen had already tapped into the general disenchantment with President Emmanuel Macron and identifying anger across the country over the rising cost of living and the decline of many rural communities.
On Sunday, she took that one step further. According to estimates, Le Pen’s party will win between 85-90 seats, up from just two in 2012 and eight in 2017, which could make it the second-largest party in parliament. Major pollsters last week estimated just 25-50 seats.
There is a rise in nationalism everywhere not just in France. The increases in both Ukrainian nationalism and Russian nationalism is one of the factors behind the Russia-Ukraine War. Nationalism is one of the factors in China’s actions on its side of the Pacific. The persecution of Muslims in India is a consequence of the rise in Indian nationalism expressed in a peculiarly Indian way, as Hindu nationalism.
In many places the spur behind the rise in nationalism is the failure of government to deal with the country’s problems in practical, affordable ways. Ordinary people languish while elites flourish. That’s one of the things that aggravates me about the January 6 committee hearings. Getting rid of Trump won’t solve our problems but better government might.
In France Emmanuel Macron’s leadership, the weeks of demonstrations by people in gilets jaunes, yellow vests, including, maybe especially in the midst of a nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19, rising prices, and decreasing standards of living are combining to make what had been a fringe group that secured a tiny fraction of the vote into the second largest party in the country.
“In many places the spur behind the rise in nationalism is the failure of government to deal with the country’s problems in practical, affordable ways. Ordinary people languish while elites flourish.”
That seems to be the inevitable pattern of voting in increasing government power. Seeking this white whale of good governance supposes that human nature does not apply to politicians or those in the government bureaucracy. Yet it is government that can tax, regulate, fine or arrest. See: inflation or covid mandates. The private sector has checks and balances. Of course, god help us when media, social media and a political party join forces. (I had to laugh this weekend when Biden fell off his bike in what should have been a non-story, but some clown at the Atlantic had to write a piece on how the heroic Biden had gotten back on his horse and persevered. RUFKM?)
I don’t know if you meant to, but it seems to me you come dangerously close to conflating nationalism for the inequity reasons cited, with bastardizations such as jingoism or ethnic mistreatment.
I would remind people that balkanization by race, sex, sexual preference, class etc is the go-to strategy of the Democrat Party. Vilify Republicans as oppressors, and then promise candy in return for allegiance.
What comprises a fringe group these days? The implication is that it’s a small irreverent group chafing at rules that have been set within “normalized†establishment rope lines. However, what happens when establishment rules become extraordinarily out of step in mirroring the concerns and struggles of ordinary citizens, focusing instead on making the elite more powerful and wealthy? IMO these are the circumstances facing Americans today.
Just this past weekend:
35 people shot in Chicago;
Shootings in DC during Juneteenth celebrations;
3000 airline flights cancelled stranding countless travelers;
Truckers stranded because of diesel shortages;
Consumer sentiment down to the lowest level…ever;
Texas GOP voted the 2020 election was illegitimate;
While we’re pumping billions into Ukraine, the ruble is at a 7-year high;
Dem politicians are not disavowing unruly protesters hassling SCOTUS jurists;
Illegal border crossings and advancing caravans are increasing
is a sampling of problems straining the lives of the middle/working classes. It appears the establishment has failed to do anything but disable our country. So, maybe that’s why populist movements, considered by many as “fringe†movements, are attracting voters who want real changes, providing real improvement, rather than the flaccid or destructive lip service offered by the current establishment ruling class.
Third largest; the “hard left†finished ahead of the “far rightâ€; but the left was composed of multiple parties running as a joint ticket.
I am not sure it really means much for RN; they will be frozen out by other parties like the AfD in Germany is until they get 50+1 and win the Presidency.
More significant is Macron lost an absolute majority in the National Assembly; so domestic policies will require negotiations (but foreign policy will remain Macron’s domain as it is assigned to the President).
My basic thesis remains: incompetence encourages fringe groups, whether on the right or the left.
Meh. Looks to me like some of the losers in the economy are looking real hard to find someone else to blame. They are combining with the culture warriors and are adding a healthy dollop of conspiracy theories. The bigger is not the fringe groups but that large parts of the right are accepting the same conspiracy theories as those on the supposed fringe. So almost all Republicans believe Trump won, which should be a fringe belief at best. On the left you end up with a very small group who actually believe you should teach CRT or accept radical woke stuff. The left will actually vote people out of office when they go too far.
Steve
What I’ve found is those who donâ€t want to even consider an opposite POV or observation default to calling such dialogues “conspiracy theories.†This way they instantly discredit any further discussions…..until, later on those very conspiracy theories end up being the truth.