Mixing "federal" and "Fatherland" in one sentence just about ticks all the boxes for every red-blooded member of the Island race and, from Inverness to Penzance, will have us scrambling the Spitfires and loading the sten guns. Chocks away, tally ho!
But that is indeed how the new European grouping of far-rightists called the "European Patriotic Party" was described. It includes Jean Marie Le Penn's Front National who is busily polishing his jackboots in anticipation. He was joined on the stage at the launch by some bloke from the Austrian Freedom Party, a loon from Bulgaria (who interestingly deals with bad press by staging an invasion of the offices of the newspaper concerned and yelling threats at the journalist) and our old mates, Vlaam Belangs.
Mr. Siderov of the Bulgarian Attack Party bravely resists the temptation to raise all five fingers.Basically the last collection of far-right parties in the European Parliament collapsed in a pile of recriminations and insults flung at each other. The Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty bloc (you at the back! Stop the comedy heel-clicking now!) broke apart when the Italian members started being rude about Romanians, forgetting that they had Romanian partners whose identity, traditions and sovereignty they were now demeaning. I haven't read if a fist fight was involved, but that would have livened up an otherwise tedious Euro Parliamentary session wouldn't it? The new band of brave warriors for the fatherland(s), seem to be searching for more member parties so that - irony of ironies - they qualify for EU funding.
Meanwhile Le Penn, whilst musing on the potential of the new party, reached near Rumsfeldian levels of everyday philosophy with:
"it's not necessary to hope in order to try, nor to succeed in order to persevere."Exactly Jean Marie - although you still have a girl's name.
He has either been reading too many Hallmark greetings cards, watching cheap kung-fu movies, or it just sound better in French.
Clearly worried about being called fascists (perish the thought!) the new grouping has said that it is not negotiating with German, ummm... fascist parties like the NPD. Which is a shame because if they had, it would have given me a good excuse to post this:
my favourite hard-left, anti-fas, German techno-art-guerilla, but otherwise unconnected, anthem.
8 comments:
Hi Toby, a correction is in order, the Vlaams Belang did not join the "European Patriotic Party"
http://www.vigilantfreedom.org/910blog/2008/01/26/gates-of-vienna-about-the-patriotic-party/
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2008/01/update-on-patriotic-party.html
I also wonder why Leftist thugs in the Anti-Fascist movements get a free pass no matter how violent they may be?
http://www.globalpolitician.com/23971-islamism
I would think it to be an oxymoron to call a philo-Semitic group like the Vlaams Belang...."Fascist"
The DW report says that:
"The heads of Austria's Freedom Party, France's Nationalist Front, the Bulgarian Attaca party and Belgium's Vlaams Belang on Friday, Jan. 25, told journalists in Vienna that they had agreed to set up a new party in order to defend Europe from numerous challenges that it faces today."
I based my post on that report, but it appears they have since changed their position from what they told the press on the 25th? Perhaps VB with their conversion to philo-Semitism are starting to become a bit more choosy about who the hang out with.
Hi Toby, they haven't changed their position, they only wanted from the very beginning to maintain loose ties.
I believe that the story being reported the way it was, is due to an over active imagination of the news media.
I would also say that the VB's "conversion" is actually a long held view for many decades, with many Flems who belong to the party having relatives who, during WWII actively helped Jews escape Nazi oppression.
I would still be interested in hearing about the WELL KNOWN strong arm tactics of the "red shirts", against those with whom the are in dissagreement with.
They are as scary as their Fascist cousins, the National Socialists.
I don't think if a party sends it's representative to a meeting and a press conference about the founding of a trans-European grouping of parties anyone needs an "over-active imagination" to see them as taking an interest in that process.
You don't find it at all problematic that VB put themselves willingly on a stage with an old bigot like Le Penn? Weren't you the other day saying that by merely having a debate where a Hamas supporter was present, the other people who were going to debate against him(!) and the organisers all became, defacto, tainted by association? You can't have it both ways.
If VB is an upstanding democratic party, they should clearly distance themselves from a racist party like the FN.
On the other issue, a thug is a thug no matter whether they claim their allegiance is to international socialism, anti-globalisation, the Fatherland and Volk, or Millwall FC. I have no problem stating that and it seems rather obvious. But whatever illegal tactics some anti-fas groups may have used, it doesn't change the ideology of the people they stand against. It seems like continually referring to that is just trying to avoid the question.
This may be my lack of historical perspective as a Yank sympathizer of Germany in Europe, but it seems a stretch to call that video anti-fascist rather than straight up nationalist.
Quizbo - it's only anti-fa because it's German. Obviously if it had been made by English folk then it would just be nationalist. And did you notice amongst the guys 'dancing' at least one of them was wearing an Israel football scarf?
Welcome to the wonderful world of the antideutsch. From the Guardian:
"I first came across them last year. I was covering a demonstration of neo-Nazis protesting against the wartime destruction of Dresden by British bombers and the deaths of thousands of German civilians. As well as shouting, "Nie wieder Deutschland" (Never again Germany), the anti-Germans held up banners with the slogan: "Bomber Harris, do it again." They even pelted the skinheads with homemade paper aeroplanes with RAF insignia. Another chant went: "You lost the war, you did, you lost the war, you did."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1859705,00.html
More here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Germans_%28communist_current%29
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2145701,00.html
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=890853
In a similar vein in the Czech Republic last autumn, when neo-Nazis tried to parade through Prague's old Jewish Quarter they were stopped by bands of young Czech and German antifa activist who were all wearing, along with the normal 'radical leftist chic', Stars of David. They also escorted and a number of elderly holocaust survivors who had come to join the counter-protest. It was good to see because the counter-protest totally outnumbered the neo-Nazis, even with though German skins had come in support of the Czech lot.
The mixing of apples and oranges.
Hi Toby,
The VB has published policies that are specifically and publicly pro-Israel, they have a history of opposing Holocaust Denial and anti-Semitism, and they have a consistent history of opposing Islamization, that is good enough for me..
Toby: "I don't think if a party sends it's representative to a meeting and a press conference about the founding of a trans-European grouping of parties anyone needs an "over-active imagination" to see them as taking an interest in that process.You don't find it at all problematic that VB put themselves willingly on a stage with an old bigot like Le Penn? Weren't you the other day saying that by merely having a debate where a Hamas supporter was present, the other people who were going to debate against him(!) and the organisers all became, defacto, tainted by association? You can't have it both ways."
No Toby, I take what a person says on a consistant basis to be what defines a person, and determines the ideology held. I find it somewhat contradictory, in disparaging the a party like the VB, when we have SDP'ers and GREENies lining up to do business with Hamas and Fattah and the Hezbollah, yes, given the green light, they would be bellying up to the bar to do business with, even if it was to just piss off the Yanks.
Guilt by association is an interesting concept, but it only holds water if their is shared ideology to accompany it. The VB, does not share anything in common with the LePenn group, the BNP or anyother racist party. I do however find it telling that the Swedish SDP are buddy buddy with the EXPO crowd, whose leader had called for the extermination of the white race, it appears that one sense of racism is not equal to others. Has the SDP distanced itself from the thugs who "help others get their minds right", or are they in collusion with them, because it fits their multicultural world view and agenda? Hmmm. According to your own logic, sharing the stage with the SDP would tarnish anyone caught with them.
Toby: "If VB is an upstanding democratic party, they should clearly distance themselves from a racist party like the FN.On the other issue, a thug is a thug no matter whether they claim their allegiance is to international socialism, anti-globalisation, the Fatherland and Volk, or Millwall FC. I have no problem stating that and it seems rather obvious."
I would say that one side using the other for the greater good, then once acheived, jettisoning the alience, sounds like a good practice that helped win WWII and the Cold War. It worked with the Soviets, Chile, the Philipines and even the Shah of Iran, though I believe that the Shah should have never been let go.
Toby: But whatever illegal tactics some anti-fas groups may have used, it doesn't change the ideology of the people they stand against. It seems like continually referring to that is just trying to avoid the question.
I care not for the National Socialists anymore than I care for the International variety, besides they all sprout from the same Marxist source, both being anti-capitalist and anti-Jew. But being anti-Fascist is not enough for these goons, they mean to take down anyone resisting multiculturalism, which means myself as well. This is nothing more than a new International Socialism by another name, and they're as every bit enthused in its progress as they were in seeing International Socialism spread. Many are as bad as the National Socialists they claim to resist, and are doing it with the blessing of the state. Gee, where have we seen that done before?
Very interesting Toby - thanks for the clarification! Never heard of those groups, but interesting bit of agitprop... I spotted the Israeli scarf, but could have sworn they were just English kids.
Also interesting that the standard propaganda against left groups by the right in the US is that they hate American and want the US to 'lose' any number of rather implausible things (War on Terror, conflict with Iran... just name your daily boogeyman). Funny that these groups embrace just those claims. Must be a hit to see them up against the neo-nazis... somehow I'd still pick a jackboot against a keyboard piano in a fight.
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