Since yesterday it is getting more clear in which political direction Europe is heading. Exactly 100 years after the first heavy clash on the continent out of nationalistic nonsense, we find our union getting more extremely nationalist by each passing election. I don’t want to point fingers, because in The Netherlands, the part of Europe where I live, bounded by dividing lines that don’t mean anything to me, we have been struggling the last 13 years with populist and neo-fascists movements that gain about 10 percent of the votes. But last night we saw an enormous rise of nationalist and fascist parties all over Europe. While countries like Belgium, Finland and the UK have winning nationalist parties that have already scary programs, we have seen lots of support for neo-fascists in Austria, Denmark, Hungary, The Netherlands and Sweden. But what scares me most is the support that a nazi party in Greece gets and a country like France, known for it’s syndicalist movement and people that are always prepared to strike, elect Front National as their biggest party. Where 25 percent of the people that have voted, voted for a party that is known for it’s xenophobia and anti-semitism.
Did we really forget what the clash of nation states brought us in the 20th century? After a horrible war and economic crises, a new war was just around the corner. This time with even more desastrous effects. Where fascists parties all over Europe took the power and distracted the people from the real issues and appointed scapegoats that lead to the holocaust.
It’s crisis again in Europe and it seems that this economic crisis leads to nationalist feelings and an environment where fascist movements seem to flourish. Please don’t let them blind you and set people against eachother. Keep in mind that racism is never acceptable, not then, not now, not in the future. Wether you believe in the system that we call democracy, wether you believe in a European Union or not, we must not accept the return of fascism. Not with you football tournaments, not with your singing contests and not with your politics.
Yes, I am scared and fucking pissed off! No Pasarán!