Guardian UK: Recession and resurgence of the far right

[marmar]

Recession and resurgence of the far right
If we allow the anti-fascist movement to be divided, we are doing the work of the British National party for it

Sabby Dhalu
guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 February 2009 16.30 GMT


The world has entered, if not a full-blown depression, the worst recession since the second world war. Only time will tell which. However, one thing is well established: these are the conditions in which nationalism, racism and fascism can flourish.

This is therefore a strange moment for David Toube to choose to attack the anti-fascist movement. No wonder the British National party (BNP) immediately quoted his piece with approval. The BNP well understand that, as in the past, divisions among their opponents are a precondition for them to advance.

This matters because the racist extreme right is poised to take advantage of the current economic malaise. They have become well established in some parts of Europe over the last 20 years. For a while, Britain seemed immune. Ten years ago, that started to change. Now the British National party (BNP) polls the highest votes ever won (pdf) by a fascist party in Britain. It is strongly represented on local councils, like Stoke, Burnley and Barking & Dagenham and holds one of the 25 seats on the London Assembly.

There is a real risk that it could even win seats in the European Parliament in the June elections, following the collapse of less radical competitors like the UK Independence party. And any electoral advance by the BNP encourages their supporters and enlarges the space for their racist views in the political mainstream. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/23/bnp-sabby-dhalu-uaf-fascism

[rpannier]

1. Poverty feeds fear

Then people go after the easiest and what are perceived as the most likely suspects for the misery