The resurgence of fascism in Europe
Cumhuriyet columnist Ergin Yıldızoğlu focuses on the rise of fascism in Europe in light of the electoral gains by extreme right-wing parties in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
"Sunday's elections in Spain are crucial for the fight against fascism in Europe," says Gordon Brown, the last Prime Minister of the UK from the Labour Party. "If VOX, which is hostile to feminism, migrants, and LGBTI+, becomes a partner in the government, fascism in Europe will accelerate in general" he continues.
The Sinister Trio
The new fascist revival in Europe is led by Germany, Italy, and Spain, homelands of Nazism, fascism, and phalangism. In Germany, the AfD has become the second most popular party in the eastern states, while the anti-AfD front is disintegrating. Although the Christian Democrats are rapidly shifting to the right, it seems inevitable that the AfD will enter the federal government in the first general elections. In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the inheritor of Mussolini and the leader of the Brothers of Italy is targeting the independence of the judiciary and increasingly interfering in the private lives of LGBT+ individuals on religious grounds. At the same time, in Spain, the spirit of Franco has risen from the grave. The Catholic phalangist VOX is expected to become a coalition partner of the center-right People's Party in the first general election. VOX is also aiming to abolish the law protecting women from male violence.
In addition to this sinister trio in France, Marine Le Pen's party, the National Rally, is in first place. In the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Sweden, and Greece, new fascist parties continue to gain ground by influencing the policies of center-right governments. Netanyahu, who formed a coalition with fascist parties in Israel, seems to have lost control over the policies of his own government. In the UK, the ruling Conservative Party has shifted to the right, leaving nothing to say to fascist movements.
Two levels of the process
We should think of the increase of fascism in process in two stages. In the first stage, the neoliberal crisis management model of capitalism has been exhausted. A new one is shaping again slowly and led by the state, with themes such as industrialization, militarism, and trade protectionism. However, a holistic narrative that would represent the "new spirit" of the period has yet to take shape. In this most fragile period of capitalism, in the absence of a credible counter-option; the way of darkest tendencies of capitalism such as racism, nationalism, militarism, and fascism are almost completely clear.
Another level concerns the current state of capitalist civilization: the global economy is in recession again. In this case, poverty and unemployment will increase; competition between classes and nations over resources will accelerate. The climate crisis, which is now undeniably evident in the current summer months, will increase the water and food shortages: The flow of refugees from uninhabitable/former colonial regions to habitable/developed/former colonial countries will increase. At this level, the pressure of factors will feed fascism in three areas: The governing model of the "center" parties and political elites, which transfers economic resources to the most powerful capitalist groups (neoliberalism), and their helplessness in the face of the migrant problem. Their unwillingness to reconcile the interests of capital with the living conditions of the population, while prioritizing the interests of capital in measures against the climate crisis, will get a lot of reaction. The fascist parties will also keep gaining ground by offering simple and understandable proposals while highlighting the incompetence of the center parties and elites in dealing with fundamental problems.
n this environment, the immigration policy of European governments is increasingly converging with the immigration policies of fascist parties. States are rapidly strengthening their instruments of control and repression with the help of new technologies. In exchange for preventing migrants from crossing into Europe, they support totalitarian/authoritarian regimes in peripheral countries such as Turkey and Tunisia with different kinds of bribes.
The center-right and center-left parties have no chance of slowing down "fascism in process”. The socialist movement is the only force that can slow down or even maybe reverse this process. Unfortunately, the socialist movement is still unable to get rid of the heavy burdens of the past, grasp the gravity of the situation, join forces, and produce a common vision of the future.
