The far-right's rising tide

It has to be benchmarked to Donald Trump, although changes on both sides of the Atlantic had been incubating for a good length of time to hit the road with a bang! A new millstone around our neck? 

The widely read British columnist Rod Riddle had relied on quotes from The Guardian to explain the Trump factor as it impacted the US presidential election. Joan Cook, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Yale attributed it to 'traumatic bonding,' like the Stockholm syndrome—an emotional dependency forged through abuse. In other words, it is likened to 'capture-bonding', first described in 1973, pegged to Stockholm, in which hostages tended to express empathy with their captors.

Jonathon Sheddler, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado was quoted as saying, "In times of stress, people revert to a childhood desire for an omnipotent protector." Trump was said to be 'benefiting from a childhood fantasy of being rescued by…a father figure.' 

Well, one doesn't have to agree to such highly subjective imputations but can only underline a certain unexpectedness of the Trump victory which perhaps lent itself to equally unexpected psychiatric interpretations.

But to think that 'a father figure' has arrived in America to 'rescue' his people is not just naively premature, more importantly,  it is also contrary to the impressions he has given so far about his predilections, commitments and priorities. He is yet to lighten his Far-right baggage; curb his huge appetite for brinkmanship; and robustly promote affirmative multilateralism in his foreign policy directions.

As if to emphasise the leadership bankruptcy at the world stage, British newspaper The Independent captioned a G-summit picture thus: "Last world leader standing" (meaning perhaps Merkel still in position, and seeking another term in office next year in a litmus test of her staying power).

The intro summed up a compelling scenario. It read "An image of German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Francois Hollande, American outgoing president Barack Obama, Italy's newly resigned prime minister Matteo Renzi and former British prime minister David Cameron speaks volumes about the turmoil seen in world politics over the course of this year." 

From the UK voting to leave the EU to Italy voting against constitutional reforms, two European prime ministers resigned in the space of six months.

Renzi's crashing defeat with 60 percent voting against his constitutional proposals led to a sharp fall in the value of Euro. The results bear complications for the country's struggling banks and have raised questions over its membership of the EU.

People tweeted the picture with comments such as "Three pro-EU globalists down, one more pro-EU globalist to go," and "four down, Merkel to go."

A guide to nationalist parties' challenges in Europe opens our eyes to a rather bleak but not necessarily irredeemable overall outlook. The percentages of votes tallied by the nationalist/Far-right parties speak of their support baselines with considerable dent made in a good number of countries. With multi-party systems and a track record of coalition governments, even a small rise in percentage of votes for a Far-right party may be considered an inroad made by fringe extremist groups.

Here is how it looks now: Sweden Democrats—13 percent; Finns Party in Finland—18 percent; Denmark's People's Party—21 percent; Germany's Alternative for Germany—4.7 percent; Netherlands' Party for Freedom—10 percent, France's National Front—14 percent; Slovakia's Our Slovakia—8 percent; Swiss People's Party—29 percent; Hungary's Jobbik—21 percent (the party lately reversed its position on delinking from the EU); Italy's Northern League—4 percent; Cyprus' ELAM—3.7 percent; and Golden Dawn in Greece—7 percent.

It is also noteworthy that in many countries, nationalists got higher scores in European parliament elections and opinion polls. 

Elections next year in France and Germany, as well as possibly a snap poll in Italy could reshape the future of the European Union for the remainder of the present decade. After Trump, 'a parallel path' is seen for Marine Le Pen of France's Far-right. But limitations of Trump tailwinds on the European Continent were exposed in Austria through the decisive victory of Green Party's Alexander Van der Bellen—by 6.6 voting margin—over his Far-right rival Hofer Norbet. Hofer's Freedom Party was founded by former Nazis in 1952. The mild mannered Van Bellen's campaign was run on the slogan: "Beware of another Trump—don't vote for Hofer."

Away in Down-Under—Australia—where many Bangladeshis live, the news is hardly inspiring! The UN special rapporteur on human rights of migrants, François Crépeau, at the end of his 18-day visit to Australia said, "Hate speech and xenophobia had increased in the country despite the nation's rich migration history" (The Guardian, November 18). The UN rapporteur without mincing words pointed out, "Politicians who have engaged in this negative discourse seem to have given permission to people on the street to act in xenophobic ways and to allow for the rise of nationalist populist groups."

Politicians are cuddling up to 'Hansonite rhetoric' pushing for a cut to or end of immigration to Australia. Hanson, MP has even called for a ban on Muslim migration.

In this context, it is vitally important that Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act which 'sets the tone for an inclusive Australia' be maintained in letter and spirit.

The psychology of the "other" creates and nurtures distance, and consequently sustains mistrust. While technology has bridged physical distances, in filling the vast void in psychological spaces, communication is our best bet. But we have to use its tools navigating away from disinformation or misinformation campaigns topped up by planting 'fake news' to drive wedges in communities. 

The writer is a contributor of The Daily Star.

Email: shahhusainimam@gmail.com