26.03.2014 The rise of the right-wing populists

Reinecke (2014) reports on the new upsurge of nationalist parties in Europe. Until now, their influence has remained modest. However, especially in view of the forthcoming elections for the European Parliament, a reversal-trend is looming. A strong growth of nationalistically enclined voters has to be expected. In France, the share of votes for the National Front has already risen to 23 percent: “Admittedly, the conservatives and social democrats will retain the majority in the European Parliament. But if extreme right-wing Euro-sceptics become the strongest party in a core state of the EU – then that is a symbol. Something starts to slide: populism, fears of foreign domination and prosperity chauvinism become stronger.” Reinecke encourages not to stand idly in the face of this swing to the right, but to take action against those who question the free movement of persons and the European Economic zone. One should not simply shrug in reaction to the vote against the free movement of persons by Switzerland. Concerning Rroma, he names the political instrumentalisation of the ethnic group by right-wing publications such as the Weltwoche, which has repeatedly stirred up hatred against the minority. That such tendencies cannot be met with silence, can’t be stressed often enough.

Bade (2014) complements these reflexions with his thoughts on the German immigration debate. He begins with the economic idea that the increasing impoverishment of the middle and lower classes make more and more people susceptible to “defensive attitudes and scapegoat theories”: “In this dangerous mélange of problems and prospects, pragmatic evaluations, integration and socio-political as well as socio-legal discussions are burdened by cultural and socio-racial defensiveness from the context of negative integration. They are enforced by the populist exploitation of yet unknown issues for election purposes.” Bade therefore argues as Reinecke that the Rroma are exploited and abused by being designed as scapegoats for political debates about values and impoverishment. It is significant here that one never talks with but always about the Rroma. Through this, a highly one-sided image of the minority is actively encouraged.

Romani Rose, chairman of the central council of the German Sinti and Rroma, emphasized in an interview with the Südwest Presse (2014) his unease about the rise of right-wing groups and their modes of argumentation. He criticizes once more the political instrumentalisation of the Rroma for campaign purposes and the equation of poverty-migration with the group of the Rroma: “This is a harmful discussion. In the last federal election campaign they wanted to poach votes from the right-wing „Alternative für Deutschland“ and the right-wing NPD. The NPD did not let itself slow down by this and advertised with the slogan “Better money for grandma than for Sinti and Roma”. With this, it left the level of our constitutional order. […] We demand guidelines in the election campaigns, which prohibit racist and discriminatory election propaganda. A legal basis is missing.” He perceives as particularly outrageous and frightening that despite the historical awareness of their discrimination, Rroma are blamed for social ills. The extreme right-wing parties are said to want to undermine the state of law. That is why it is so important that democratic parties defend the rule of law. A considerable fear to identify oneself as Rroma in the public remains. This fear of disclosing one’s own origin is a clear indicator of the still strongly rooted reservations of the majority against the minority.