In country after country around the western developed world, a change has been taking place. The United States isn’t the only place where the politics of traditional “left” and “right” are disintegrating. The stunning rise of Donald Trump is not the only such scenario. (Keep the Faith has reported on the rise of Victor Orban, the right wing leader of Hungary here… http://ktfnews.com/hungary-moving-far-right/)
Europe’s traditional left wing parties are collapsing. They’ve hit rock bottom because “the dismal economic situation, the challenge of terrorism, the refugee crisis all pose problems to which Europe’s traditional leaders – and above all, those on the Left – have no coherent answers.”
Long goodbye of the European Left [1]
It seems that the liberal “Left” is taking on a more conservative rightward spin, while the conservative center-right no longer matches the views of its party base. Meanwhile, the European right made up of traditional conservatives is also in disarray. “Everywhere you look, in country after country, batty nationalists are winning and conservative pragmatists are running scared.”
It’s not just Donald Trump, the right is tearing itself apart everywhere [2]
There is a new rising “right-wing populism” that is confusing and overthrowing traditional divides that includes politicians like Marine Le Pen of France’s National Front, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Poland’s Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynsnki, U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, and even the mayor of London Boris Johnson (who wants Britain to leave the European Union). There are also far right parties that have been making inroads in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, and other places. All of these have knocked establishment conservatives for a loop.
On the U.S. front, there’s Donald Trump a rather aggressive insurgent waging war on his own party, and Bernie Sanders whose clever provocations gather him votes in his, neither of which would maintain the status quo of either of their respective parties. Trump speaks admiringly of Vladimir Putin, an attribute he shares with Le Pen, Orban and Farage.
Defending freedom is no longer necessary. It’s an accessory. Many in both the United States and Europe like a bit of authoritarianism, and even a little racism. And the new breed of politicians seems to oblige them. In Europe, it’s Muslims. In America its Hispanics especially, though Muslims and others get their share of it too. And in Europe, Orban claims that he is going to roll back Hungary’s democratic institutions, and proclaims himself the defender of Europe’s “Christian values.” Trump on the other hand, plans to give more power to the churches if he is elected to the high office of POTUS (President
of the United States).
Europe is abandoning its socialist mantle for a much more right-wing one and some of the new breed of political activists can hardly hide their contempt for the bureaucratic party system. Some of Britain’s Labour party functionaries have been embroiled in controversy over their statements with clearly anti-Semitic overtones and has moved so far from its traditional internationalism (globalism) that there are suggestions that the party abides intolerance.
What You Need To Know About Britain’s Raging Anti-Semitism Scandal [3]
Corbyn, Cameron and Livingstone face questioning by MPs on antisemitism [4]
Today, Western democracies find themselves in a general confusion and are no longer straightforwardly organized. “Left” and “Right” aren’t really left and right anymore. And Western political systems are lagging dramatically behind these complicated social realities. Liberal democracies are witnessing nothing less than the end of politics, as we know it.
Where does this lead? The backlash to leftist and left leaning political leaders is here. But it is also a backlash to center-right and right leaning conservatives who have not fulfilled their campaign promises and have collaborated with the left, undermining their credibility for years.
Along with it is a religious undertone (witness Trump and Orban). With the Vatican in the old world, and evangelical Protestantism in the New reaching across the gulf to clasp hands, how long will it take in the new reality for populist leaders to suggest that religious worship laws would serve their countries well is anyone’s guess. But it is coming, perhaps sooner than we have thought.
“Romanism in the Old World and apostate Protestantism in the New will pursue a similar course toward those who honor all the divine precepts.” Great Controversy, page 615