Just catching up on the news, some far-right group in France supposedly leading with 33% of first round votes, the guy is only 28 years old (I think).
Bardella will piss that election and it's been forecast for weeks. The French (and the Germans) are going to the right because they are fed up of all the problems they have and are getting pissed off with the EU too. Italy next although they are already halfway there.
The one thing about Germany though, is having proportional representation instead of first past the posr even if they're the most voted for party... If they're only 20% of a widely split election they only get 20% of seats... Which means they have to compromise and can't take over the country like they might in a first past the post system. Far right in France, for now, is far more dangerous than what's happening in Germany. 34% of vote in France but could end up majority seat holder.
Doesn’t this usually happen in France? Now the lefties will drop out and team up as one to defeat them. Sure that’s how it plays out over there.
No, this is something new. The left are paying the price for years of infighting, and for leaving the centre ground open to Macron. Now Macron’s support has collapsed, there is no one in the centre. What happens to any democracy when the centre cannot hold? We’re about to find out.
I’ve been reading up on it. The right are expected to fall short and the left are teaming up to stop them having a majority. Governments right across Europe need to understand why the right wing is rising all over the continent and deal with it. Otherwise, I have a feeling that this is just the start that we are seeing.
You'd hope that there would be checks and balances in place to prevent the far right from gaining a foothold, but I think the rhetoric around refugees over the last decade or so has given a platform to people who would otherwise be put back in their box. These people aren't just anti immigrant either, they are anti gay, anti trans, anti anything that they don't think fits into their narrow definition of how people and society should be. Illegal immigration is a hot topic, and because European govts don't really know how to handle it, it gives a space for the far right to offer 'solutions' that appeal to frustrated people. The reality of course is far more complex, and decades of war, displacement, economic repression etc that have given rise to these conditions are rarely discussed in the equation. A simple strapline 'Send them home' will always appeal to those who want a solution, but don't necessarily understand the wider context of the issue, or the danger in giving support to people who have underlying fascist ideologies.
Why would be there checks and balances against certain ideologies getting power? If they win the votes they deserve their seats no?
I just mean a self regulating society. Healthy honest debate about what certain ideologies stand for. But we live in an age where politics is anything but.
