The Ultra-Right in Western Countries Is Wriggling

Published in China Times
(China) on 25 July 2011
by Huang Shikai (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Yipeng Xie. Edited by Emily Sicard.
The car bomb and shooting in Norway have attracted global attention. However, if people were aware of the rise of ultra-right political groups to a point where they have achieved stability and power, they might not feel surprised about the killings.

In recent years, the Western economy has crippled and faces a challenging recovery. The unemployment rate has remained high, and citizens are dissatisfied. Social welfare has worsened because of national crises. Intentionally or not, while politicians and the media search for scapegoats, they have taken advantage of immigrants.

In the 2002 French presidential election, ultra-rightist Le Pen, defeating the left wing Socialist Party candidate, unprecedentedly entered the second round and shook all of Europe. Since then, many ultra-rightist tenets such as limitations on immigration and protections for indigenous cultures and religions have been added to the political agenda. After the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the tea party, led by Sarah Pain, the Republican candidate for vice president, claimed xenophobic opinions corresponding to those expressed by right wing media, like Fox, and has since become a crucial political power.

In both Europe and the U.S., people who uphold ultra-right political leanings include elitists who highly praise their own race and youths unsatisfied with levels of unemployment. In the short term, eliminating ultra-rightism is impossible.

In summary, the debilitation of the economy is highly related to ultra-rightists’ claims and their support. If those governing support freedom of expression and multicultural values, if leaders protect immigrant workers’ rights and salary equality during economic development, if politicians can avoid referencing national security concerns or other subjective elements as reasons to reject prospective immigrants, they will not need to worry about the blooming of ultra-rightism in Taiwan.


 挪威發生汽車爆炸及極右派分子瘋狂掃射事件,引發全球關注,若將此事件置入近年美國歐洲極右派興起,且已結盟成穩定政治勢力的脈絡觀察,會發生此屠殺事件,恐怕並不意外。

 近年歐美因經濟衰退和復甦力道疲軟,失業人數居高不下常上看雙位數,人民普遍不滿,社會福利亦因國家財政危機逐步削減,不論是無心或有意,在尋找代罪羔羊過程中,外來移工移民,即被便宜行事的政客或媒體當成箭靶。

 二○○二年法國總統選舉,極右派「民族陣線」勒班竟在首輪領先左派社會黨候選人,史無前例進入第二輪,在整個歐洲投下震憾彈,自此之後,極右派的諸多主張,例如限制移民移工、保護本國文化及宗教等政策,逐步進入政治議程;美國則在二○○八大選後,以共和黨副總統候選人裴琳為首的茶黨興起,表露仇外言論,與福斯等右翼媒體互相呼應,成為不可忽視的政治勢力。

 不論是歐洲或美國,支持極右派觀點的信眾,不但有高度認同自身民族的社會菁英,也有因失業問題不滿的青年族群,短期之內,要消解或期待極右勢力突然消逝,無異天方夜譚。

 總之,經濟不振與極右派言論和行動獲支持比率,有高度相關性,主政者若真能堅持言論自由和多元文化價值,在經濟發展的同時,保障移工人權,落實同工同酬,避免濫用國家安全或主觀認定作為排拒外配移民的理由,自然無須擔憂極端種子在台灣土壤中發芽。
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