Austria has just finished its first round of elections for the position of president. Unlike America, the presidential position is more ceremonial and less dictatorial. But this does not mean the results of the first round are not fascinating for anyone who cares about the strange politics that are on foot in Europe.
The polarization of Europe
Europe is polarizing, to the extreme. As in the case of Austria (and practically every other European country) it has been ruled since 1945 by the two main parties, either in coalition or by formation of a minority government. The two main parties are centrist left and centrist right, so there must be some differences. But what neither party has realized (and this goes for the rest of Europe’s main centrist parties) is that these are uncertain, tumultuous times. And thus they call for more realistic, and indeed radical policies.
When a country is in the throes of war, for instance, different laws apply. There is rationing, drafting, reshuffling of taxpayer money etc. If a country does not do this, they are seriously handicapping themselves. Countries cannot continue with the same policies, or the same solutions, when there is something exceptional occurring. And the refugee crisis is indeed something exceptional.
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Copyright Telegraph UK: Refugees flooding into UK towns[/caption]
In Europe, its business as usual
But what the two main parties like to do (in Austria, and the whole of Europe), is pretend that it is business as usual and the laws that applied well for 10,000 East European immigrants in the Soviet era, will apply just as well for 2 million Muslim refugees. Then suddenly when they realize that it doesn’t work this way, they are filled with saviour’s remorse, and make a dramatic U-turn on their promises.
Thus, we get a situation where the public writes off the main parties, due to their confusing (and quite naïve) responses and searches for something else. And this is when Europe’s new right wing political movement comes into play. They sweep in, with their strong views and unashamed sense of nationalistic pride. People respond well to it, because they feel like these right-wingers are not in the corner of the U.N, E.U, or in Merkel’s case, Turkey. They actually appear to be boxing for their own country.
But not everyone delights in the hard-line anti-immigrant, anti-EU stance. Some like the idea of the open borders and the ever-expanding EU, and thus they are also disappointed by the two main parties and look for something else. So now Austria’s second leading candidate is the near opposite of its first. And this is what is happening all over Europe. It has hit Germany, The Netherlands, France, U.K and all Mediterranean countries. The only countries in Europe that are not polarizing, but uniting, are the East European ones.
How much can the old continent bear?
Whether you like it or not, with the current trajectory, Europe is heading for civil unrest, not just political polarization. Therefore, every European country needs to take a hard look at what is realistic and answer this one question. Can we really be the saviours of the world’s displaced population, when half us actively oppose it and our country can barely maintain social order?