Well, after a seemingly
endless campaign, the European Union election results are finally in – and many
of us will be wishing they had stayed out, as they do not make very comforting
reading for anyone who believes in a Europe of peace and unity. The big story
of the night is the large number of anti-EU right wing populist parties that
did extremely well in elections – particularly the Front National in France,
the United Kingdom Independence Party, and the Danish People's Party. All three
of these parties won their respective national votes, and all three of them
could be called anti-immigrant, xenophobic, and perhaps even racist – in some
case, directing animosity towards citizens from other members of the EU.
The voters of Europe (at least
those who bothered to turn out, which in most countries was only a small
percentage of the population) have spoken, and it seems that they have chosen
hatred, division, and mutual suspicion. They have chosen to ignore the decades
of cooperation that Europe has achieved under the EU, a state of peace that is
almost unknown in the history of the continent. And they have chosen to blame
foreigners for their problems – underemployment, the need for more social
services, and cultural disruption – rather than looking to the true culprit of
capitalism.
Truthfully, we should be
against the EU in many ways, but it is the neoliberal capitalist aspect of the
EU that we should be fighting. The part of the EU that pushes for privatization
of services; that wants to create a common market in services across the
continent, allowing companies from rich countries to take over things in poorer
places; that subsidizes farmers to the tune of hundreds of millions of Euros a
year to produce food that is simply wasted or which inflates prices on the
world market; that negotiates unfair trade deals with poorer countries around
the world, while colluding with the US to create ever more profit for itself.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the
only country in the recent election that seems to be fighting this capitalist
EU is Greece, where the left wing Syriza party came out on top of the polls.
Greece has been at the epicenter of this neoliberal EU, having been forced to
adopt an agreement to slash jobs and services, reduce wages and benefits, and
destroy the social fabric of Greek society all to pay back European banks. The
Greeks have seen the true face of the capitalist EU, and have responded
accordingly by electing a party that specifically opposes that form of Europe,
without rejecting the many benefits that greater European unity has given us
(although it must be noted that the extremely right wing Golden Dawn party came
in third place in the Greek election, so that country is not completely free of
ridiculous racist ideas by any means).
It is time for the rest of
us to take a lesson from the Greeks. Rather than voting for parties that offer
nothing but hatred and which target relatively helpless groups of poor
immigrants who are only trying to make a living, we need to develop our own
versions of Syriza. Political parties which understand the frustrations of
ordinary people, but which also identify the right causes for these symptoms.
Political parties which understand that it is the neoliberal capitalism of the
EU which is the problem that needs to be solved, not the open borders and
freedom of movement. And ultimately, political parties that want a Europe based
on equality, fairness, justice, and most of all, unity.
[ European Union election, election results, right wing populist parties, United
Kingdom Independence Party, Danish People's Party, cultural disruption, privatization
of services, left wing Syriza party, Greek election, freedom of movement ]
