The Financial Crisis of 2008 as a Reason for the Right Wing Political Prosper in Europe: A Case on t

The arduous long-term process of welfare reorganization after the financial crisis of 2008 has turned to be a key point in Europe regarding the overall national perspective of decision and policy making in the states. The victorious right wing political campaign which took place in many EU countries such as France, Sweden and the United Kingdom has presently succeeded to triumph even over Denmark.

Political Dilemmas in Europe after the financial crisis of 2008

The financial crisis which has emerged in the United Stated and Europe in 2008 had a great impact on numerous countries and their citizens. In the particular case of the EU member states, the crisis did not simply change the general economic climate in the region but it also succeeded to transform the common socio-political tendencies which have been performed until that moment. The intensive external structural changes which have appeared as an effect of this financially unstable period truly influenced the political and institutional vision in the states concerning the future constructive functioning of the EU zone.

Since 2008 the governmental concerns regarding the economic balance within EU have become partly related to the process of internal deindustrialisation and reduce of employment in manufacturing industry in the member states. Basically, this decline in the local industrial and labour activities has been caused by various major aspects such as the global technological advance, the shift in economic power from the West to the East and the growing consumer demands for better services.

Moreover, the arduous long-term process of welfare reorganization after the crisis has also turned to be a key point in Europe as regards the overall national perspective of decision and policy making. This change has been expressed by the loom of extreme civil and political units which have stated to perform nationalist and anti-migration slogans in order to strengthen the economic deficit. As a result, the contemporary triumph of the right wing policies in numerous EU states can be respectively associated with the general division and impoverishment in the labour markets and the anti-crisis austerity measures set by the governments with regard to the growing economic stagnation and reduction of national benefits. In addition, similar extreme political practices which have gained great success in EU can be seen mainly in countries which traditionally have prosper economic development such as France where the populist National Front Party (NFP) won 25.2 % in the first round of the local elections in March 2015, Sweden where the Sweden Democrats (SD) nationalist Party became the third leading party in the Swedish Parliament with 12. 9 % in the elections in September 2014, the United Kingdom where the UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage has proclaimed in October 2014 that the aggressive British public and political revival against Muslims is caused by the EU meaningless protective guidance on international crime and human rights legislation and now even Denmark is following the suit.

The Eagerly Awaited Triumph of the Right Wing Bloc in Denmark

The Danish citizens have officially changed their national political course by letting Lars Løkke Rasmussen and the centre-right liberal party Venstre (the Right Party) to win the governmental elections in the state with 99 % of the votes counted in 19 June 2015. After an intensive political campaign, the right wing bloc, which represents a coalition between Venstre party and the far-right Dansk Folkeparti (the Danish People`s Party), has defeated the formal government of the Social Democratic alliance and Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

According to the final results, the right wing bloc has reached the 90 seats needed for a majority in the 179-seat Parliament. Among them, 37 seats will be hold by the Danish People`s Party. With its current electoral support of 21 % which is also a doubled result in comparison the previously reached 10.1 % in the elections in November 2013, the anti-immigration far-right representatives have succeeded to become the second biggest political power in the Parliament.

The future political objectives of the Danish right wing bloc for the next governmental mandate will be concentrated mainly on initiatives concerning the EU reforms against the expansion of immigration in Europe. Jointly with the Liberal Alliance and the Conservative Party, the right wing members of the Parliament will attempt to express their willingness of supporting the British Prime Minister`s, David Cameron, intention to renegotiate the terms of UK’s membership in the EU, especially in relation to welfare benefits for migrants who are entering and crossing the European community.

The Right Wing Parties in Europe – the Only True Labour Saviours

Many debates which occupy the media field nowadays are recognizing the right wing parties and their advance in the EU member states as consequence of the high levels of immigration. Still, this hypothesis does not prove itself that the present anti-immigration sentiments have a complete impact on the right wing political prosper in Europe.

According to Daniel Oesch (2008), the explanation of the present right wing political triumph takes an anti-immigration stance for both economic reasons, e.g. fear of pressure on wages and welfare benefits and cultural reasons, e.g. disaffection towards multiculturalism and the granting of citizens` rights to foreigners. As regards the context of this article, the ascent will fall exclusively on the economic reasons.

Briefly, the Oesch`s explanation claims that the right wing adherents are negatively affected by the modernization processes. The workers who represent the major electoral support of the right wing political current have been mostly injured during the financial and industrial changes. Their labour position has been also seriously weakened by the spread of information technologies and boosting of the international trade market. By becoming the most vulnerable actors in the worldwide economic field the workers found in the right wing salvation and strength for protection of their interests and demands.

Moreover, the right wing parties prospered among the EU electorate since they have been taken a protectionist stance toward the international competition by advocating for trade restrictions and standing against further integration in the European common market (economic protectionism). On the national level, the right wing parties became defenders of the principle of local preference in relation to employment and social security matters (welfare competition). By mobilizing against work immigration and proclaiming for restrictions of the labour supply, the right wing parties have convinced the electoral supporters that this strategy will decrease the competition in the local labour market.

At last, the right wing parties have achieved to win the European electorate after the financial crisis not only by leading anti-ethnic and anti-racial campaign (cultural reason) but by taking the control over the citizens regarding their financial and democratic attitudes. In this sense, it can be assumed that whether people become more vigilant towards the immigrants and secure concerning the real financial potential in each state, they would be no longer likely to vote for the right wing parties and the ideologically related occupational groups and units.

The Peculiar and Unpredictable Socio-Political Condition in Europe

The common welfare democracy in Europe is in peculiar socio-political condition. At the present stage, most of the economically leading EU member states are following extreme nationalist and anti-immigration policies with no evidence for neither collective nor singular sustainable future and constructive outcomes. It appears that the current strong political choices have been made as a consequence of the financial cataclysm which has took away their national strength including economic deregulation, fiscal deficits and deregulation, tax reduction, de-unionisation and privatisation.

The following condition of economic and labour austerity has leaded to the steadily replacement of the existing social parties by more nationally orientated. The overall weakness in the EU states has pushed the citizens to seek for welfare alternatives in fields where they have not being searching before. Thus, the social democracy in the shape of which the contemporary history knows does not longer exist. The political changes which occur in Europe nowadays can be recognized as part of new democratic attempt of managing the real obstacles which stand in front the nations, e.g. unemployment, impoverishment, higher retirement rates. Still, the final outcome of this welfare transformation is hart to be foreseen.

References:

Diamond, P., Liddle, R. and Sage, S. (2015), The Social Reality of Europe after the Crisis: Trends, Challenges and Responses. London: Rowman & Littlefield International Ltd.

Millis, J. “Denmark votes: Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt defeated by Lars Løkke Rasmussen”, International Business Times (June 2015) <http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/denmark-votes-prime-minister-helle-thorning-schmidt-defeated-by-lars-lokke-rasmussen-1506935> (21.06.2015)

Nigel Farage: Live on LBC. LBC Studio. YouTube. 24 Oct 2014. Broadcast Emission. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-KD5fdyw2k>

Oesch, D. (2008) “Explaining Workers` Support for Right-Wing Populist Parties in Western Europe: Evidence from Austria, Belgium, France, Norway, and Switzerland” in International Political Science Review. Vol. 29, No. 3, pp.349-373.

“Results of the municipal and regional election in Denmark 19th of November 2013”, The International View Point, (Nov 2013) <http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article3189> (21.06.2015)

Rosén, E. (2014) ’Tolv komma nio procent’, Politism, 15 Sept, <http://www.politism.se/story/tolv-komma-nio-procent/#post-16933> (25.06.2015)

“France’s far-right National Front party”, AFP News Agency, March 2015, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOpTuw162tk > (25.06.2015)

White, S. and Seth-Smith, N. (2014), Democratic Wealth: Building a Citizens` Economy. Creative Commons Non-Commercial License: OpenDemocracy.

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