The Ultra-Right in Western Countries Is Wriggling

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.