Hate, bigotry becoming part of political ‘new normal’

Over the last several decades, we have pushed the boundaries of political and ideological extreme. What was unacceptable yesterday has become the new normal today, and the very notion of extremism has been redefined. The election of Donald Trump in the United States and the German neo-Nazi party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), winning parliamentary status, as well as the electoral success of the (New) People’s Party in Austria are signs of a deep and prolonged crisis in the neoliberal economic and political order of things. This is the context in which we should analyze the rise of the extreme right and its takeover of the political centre stage, not only in Germany and the U.S. but also around the world. It does not hurt repeating that populism and the redefining of the meaning of extreme political views are products of the problematic relations between the neoliberal capitalist model and democracy. That fact had not been lost on some of its early champions. The British Conservative Party is now attempting to reposition itself, and in its 2017 Manifesto is advocating the return to greater and more effective regulation. As for Germany, the country is enjoying relative economic prosperity. That being said, Germany is surrounded by chaos. Regressive political and cultural processes are playing out among its neighbours and eastern members of the European Union—Hungary and Poland in particular. Moreover, in a post-Brexit Europe there is talk about integration processes in terms of a “two-speed Europe,” and first-tier and second-tier European states. The idea of the EU was seen by many of its current and aspiring members as a solution to economic, political, and social problems plaguing their societies. The existence of the EU community instilled confidence and gave a sense of hope and security. Today, few people place their trust either in the EU or in their own political classes. The electoral success of the AfD and the normalizing of extremist political views across Europe are both the expressions and the catalysts of this lack of trust and hopelessness. Truth be told, in both Europe and North America, democratic institutions and corresponding systems of governance have long been infused with all kinds of extremist views and discourses that we no longer see as negative but rather as legitimate expressions of particular cultural, religious, and ideological heritage. That is how hate, bigotry, xenophobia, and racism have become an integral part of our daily life. Traditional political parties have all but erased ideological and policy distinctions among them and are advocating more or less the same political options. Many political actors are no longer defining themselves as parties, but instead want to be called lists and movements. We are also witnessing a homogenization of political elites previously representing different and opposing sides of the political spectrum. What they do, however, is sloganeering in hope that their old voter base will remain faithful to the rebranded political entity. Unlike more traditional neo-Nazi parties, the German AfD succeeded by stepping into a void created by other political actors and capitalized on the general public mistrust of the traditional parties. At the same time, the fault lines between political elites and their electorates are widening. In Europe and North America, voters are stepping away from the area of conventional politics. They feel abandoned by traditional political elites and are seeking new ways of engaging in the political process. What we call populism is indeed an attempt to stay connected and breed new life into a spent political routine. That is a significant reason for the rise of the so-called unconventional political candidates, anti-establishment movements and right-wing political parties in the U.S. and Europe. Canada is not insulated from such processes. Far from it. The discourse dominating the effort to unite the right and the overheated political rhetoric in Alberta, with calls to “lock her up,” echo some of the extremist slogans. Moreover, attempts of the Soldiers of Odin and similar racist and xenophobic hate groups to profit on the manufacturing of fear of immigrants and refugees, and assert their white supremacist vision of civic responsibility in several Canadian cities point to the normalizing of what was deemed unacceptable just a few decades ago. This political production of the new normal should not remain unchallenged, and the Canadian government should do a better job of deconstructing narratives of hate and bigotry. Srdja Pavlovic teaches modern European and Balkan history at the University of Alberta. He may be reached at: pavlovic@ualberta.ca. The Hill Times