Nora Langenbacher, Britta Schellenberg (ed.) IS EUROPE ON THE “RIGHT” PATH? Right-wing extremism and right-wing populism in Europe FES GEGEN RECHTS EXTREMISMUS Forum Berlin Nora Langenbacher, Britta Schellenberg (ed.) IS EUROPE ON THE “RIGHT” PATH? Right-wing extremism and right-wing populism in Europe ISBN 978-3-86872-617-6 Published by Nora Langenbacher and Britta Schellenberg on behalf of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Forum Berlin Project “Combating right-wing extremism“ Hiroshimastr. 17 10785 Berlin Edited by (German and English) Nora Langenbacher Britta Schellenberg Edited by (English) Karen Margolis Translated by (German --> English) Karen Margolis Julia Maté Translated by (English --> German) Harald Franzen Markus Seibel Julia Maté Translated by (Italian --> German) Peter Schlaffer Proofread by (English) Jennifer Snodgrass Proofread by (German) Barbara Hoffmann Designed by Pellens Kommunikationsdesign GmbH Printed by bub Bonner Universitäts-Buchdruckerei Copyright © 2011 by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Contents Preface ........................................................................................................7 RIGHT-WING EXTREMISM AND POPULISMUS IN EUROPE Nora Langenbacher & Britta Schellenberg Introduction: An anthology about the manifestations and development of the radical right in Europe ..................................11 Martin Schulz, MEP ................................................................................27 Combating right-wing extremism as a task for European policy making Michael Minkenberg ...............................................................................37 The radical right in Europe today: Trends and patterns in East and West WESTERN EUROPE Germany | Britta Schellenberg ................................................................57 The radical right in Germany: Its prohibition and reinvention France | Jean-Yves Camus .......................................................................83 The extreme right in France: Redrawing of the map to be expected Great Britain | Christopher T. Husbands .............................................101 The situation of the extreme right in Great Britain The Netherlands | Ronald Eissens & Suzette Bronkhorst ...................123 Right-wing extremism and populism in the Netherlands: Lessons not learned IS EUROPE ON THE “RIGHT” PATH? SOUTHERN EUROPE Italy | Roberto Chiarini .........................................................................141 The extreme right in Italy Switzerland | Damir Skenderovic.........................................................159 Transformations and “direct” successes on the right-wing fringe: Switzerland as a model for Europe? Spain | Frauke Büttner ..........................................................................181 Right-wing extremism in Spain: Between parliamentary insignifi cance, far-right populism and racist violence EASTERN EUROPE Bulgaria | Kristian Vigenin, MEP ..........................................................197 The radical right in Bulgaria: ATAKA – rise, fall and aftermath Poland | Rafal Pankowski ......................................................................205 Identity and bigotry: Nationalist populism and the extreme right in contemporary Poland Hungary | Pal Tamas .............................................................................221 The radical right in Hungary: A threat to democracy? NORTHERN EUROPE Denmark | Susi Meret ............................................................................243 From the margins to the mainstream? The development of the radical right in Denmark Sweden | Heléne Lööw .........................................................................267 The extreme right in Sweden: Growing slowly Norway | Tor Bjørklund ........................................................................285 The radical right in Norway: The development of the Progress Party FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG OUTLOOK: PERSPECTIVES FOR EUROPE Britta Schellenberg ................................................................................309 Strategies against the radical right and for a pluralist, forward-looking Europe Nora Langenbacher ...............................................................................319 Seven theses to conclude with: Together against right-wing extremism in Europe APPENDIX About the authors .............................................................................326 Selected literature and links ...............................................................333 The work of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung for democracy and against right-wing extremism ............................................................337 Photo proofs .......................................................................................341 IS EUROPE ON THE “RIGHT” PATH? 5 6 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG Preface Dear Readers, Right-wing extremism is not a national phenomenon. Xenophobia, anti- Semitism and racism exist in many countries and the extreme right is continuously extending its cross-border networks. Attitudes towards parts of society which are based on the premise that humans are unequal, discriminating actions and structures, or open hatred and violence refl ect an alarming extent of group-related enmity in many countries of Europe and worldwide. As shown in a recent study by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung titled “Intoler- ance, Prejudice and Discrimination: A European Report1”, anti-democratic attitudes are dramatically spreading in European mainstream societies. Ac cording to this study by the University of Bielefeld, about 50 percent of respondents from eight European countries take the view that there are too many immigrants in their countries, and wish for an employment prerogative for locals in times of crisis. In many places, right-wing extremists try to use these discriminating atti- tudes to establish themselves in politics and in society through different strategies and structures. They organize parades and revisionist commemo- rations, establish loose comradeships or mobilise voters to support their parties in entering parliament – unfortunately not without success. In recent years, Europe has rather seen a boost in right-wing extremism. 1 German: “Die Abwertung der Anderen: Eine europäische Zustandsbeschreibung zu Intoleranz, Vorurteilen und Diskriminierung” (Zick et al., published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2011). Download: http://library.fes.de/pdf-fi les/do/07908-20110311.pdf IS EUROPE ON THE “RIGHT” PATH? 7 Particularly in times of crisis, right-wing extremists and right-wing popu- lists in many places are trying to use the fears of European citizens to pro- mote their “cause“ by providing simple answers to complex social chal- lenges. As a result, not only were 29 right-wing representatives elected to the European Parliament in 2009, but in Sweden, Denmark, the Nether- lands, Austria and Eastern Europe, too, they scored in national elections with slogans of scapegoatism and exclusion. What danger does the extreme right therefore pose? How does it show and organize itself in Europe and her regions? What manifestations and strategies can we identify and what counter-strategies can we develop? What role do politics and civil society play in the work against right-wing extremism and what are the next essential steps? Is Europe on the “right” path? These lead questions both shape and structure this anthology and form the basis for the work against right-wing extremism which the Friedrich- Ebert-Stiftung (FES) is deeply committed to. The central FES-Project ”Com- bating right-wing extremism”2 has therefore continuously worked for many years on different strategies for democracy and against right-wing extremism, and has offered dialogue platforms for experts and activists from the fi elds of science, politics and civil society. Additionally, the pub- lications and studies of the FES serve to inform and shape poltitical debates on a regular basis. Since 2009, the international dimension of right-wing extremism consti- tutes an individual working line of this continious work of the FES. With- in the framework of the XENOS special programme “Ausstieg zum Ein- stieg”3, the German Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Issues, the European Union, and the European Social Fund assist the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung in its efforts for a European debate and networking building. 2 German: FES-Projekt “Auseinandersetzung mit dem Rechtsextremismus”. 3 German for “Quitting for a new start”. 8 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG With their help, two international large-scale conferences have been or- ganized since 2009 with experts from all over Europe. Following a fi rst conference in November 2009 focussing on analysing the problem by European countries and regions, an OPEN SPACE conference for democ- racy took place in November 2010 searching for joint socio-political solutions. This anthology combines the insights gained at these events in the form of scientifi c analyses of manifestations of the extreme right in different parts of Europe. Additional articles document the resulting discussions and conclusions for the socio-political debate. The photos and images con- tained in this book demonstrate how dramatic this issue is, but as well document the extensive interest in and awareness of it, as well as the crea- tivity of democratic resistance witnessed at our conferences. This publication of the Project “Combating right-wing extremism” of the FES wishes to contribute to the socio-political debate on right-wing extremism as a threat