Putin could be a winner in European parliamentary vote if far right gains ground

[pampango]

When voters across Europe go to the polls this week to elect a new parliament, far-right parties are expected to be among the winners. But one of the election’s biggest beneficiaries could be a man whose name isn’t on the ballot: Vladimir Putin.

Even as mainstream European leaders sputter their condemnation of Russian aggression, voters appear poised to reward parties that make no secret of their fawning admiration for the way the Russian leader has defied the West and dismembered Ukraine. And indeed, the Russian media has begun to do just that, highlighting far-right leaders as the legitimate representatives of Europe. Those leaders, in turn, have eagerly embraced their moment in the Russian spotlight.

As pro-Russian forces wreaked havoc in eastern Ukraine last month, the head of France’s far-right National Front was in Moscow telling reporters that “a Cold War on Russia has been declared in the European Union." Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K. Independence Party and a frequent guest on the pro-Kremlin television network RT, has cited Putin as the foreign leader he most admires and asserted on national television that the 28-member E.U. has “blood on its hands” for its handling of Ukraine.

While Europe’s far-right parties differ in many respects, they share a desire to weaken the influence of the Brussels-based E.U. and “to pursue a similarly nationalist and authoritarian line” to the one embraced by Putin, according to Hajo Funke, a German political analyst and expert on right-wing extremism. Indeed, in many respects, Putin is an ideological soul mate. He rails against Western decadence and liberalism and speaks in favor of an orthodox and conservative nationalism that rejects gay rights and commands adherence to traditional values.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/putin-could-be-a-winner-in-european-parliamentary-vote-if-far-right-gains-ground/2014/05/18/4de276e9-9ee3-4366-9102-81e91e03f182_story.html

The love fest of Europe's far right for Putin continues.

[Fred Sanders]

1. The far right staged a coup in Ukraine and is hated by Putin, so.......just saying.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. So how did the "coup" happen, Fred? nt

[pampango]

4. They are "ideological soul mates" who just disagree on Ukraine's sovereignty and borders.

Indeed, in many respects, Putin is an ideological soul mate. He rails against Western decadence and liberalism and speaks in favor of an orthodox and conservative nationalism that rejects gay rights and commands adherence to traditional values.

Once Ukraine's borders are redrawn/accepted and the crisis atmosphere subsides, I suspect that Ukraine's far-right will join those in the rest of Europe and realize that Putin is a "soul mate" in terms of values and ideology.

Why wouldn't they? They know that if Ukraine ever becomes a member of the EU, the whole anti-liberalism and "an orthodox and conservative nationalism that rejects gay rights and commands adherence to traditional values" will be out the window. Russia is a much better long term friend if you believe in such values.

If Russia were snipping off a province in France, I imagine the French National Front would hate Putin. But the "snipping" is in Ukraine not France so the FNF backs Putin. The far-right, being ultra-nationalistic, has a difficult time with cross-border solidarity (that concept is a part of the EU which they hate ).

[geek tragedy]

3. Nigel Farage is a big hit on rt.com, which some idiots claim is a legitimate,

progressive source of news and analysis

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=nigel+farage+site%3Art.com&gbv=2&oq=nigel+farage+site%3Art.com&gs_l=heirloom-hp.3...5187.11428.0.11630.32.17.1.7.7.2.577.2401.2-3j3j0j1.7.0....0...1ac.1.34.heirloom-hp..26.6.1871.TEOv7dJIgrs&safe=active

Putin's Russia is a rightwing, ethnonationalist, authoritarian regime, and its supporters and apologists may be considered part of that crowd without exception.