By: Dr Matevž Tomšič
In the recent European Parliament elections, what the guardians of progressive orthodoxy feared so much and warned us about fervently in recent months has happened. There has been a concrete “shift to the right”. In the coming days and months, we can expect constant lamentations from progressive forces about the danger that the “rise of the far right” poses to Europe’s future.
However, this involves a lot of generalisation and simplification. Firstly, it is not only the far right that has strengthened but also the moderate right, united in the European People’s Party. Secondly, and more importantly, the so-called far right is very internally heterogeneous. It is divided into two political groups and several parties without political affiliation at the European level. Parties falling within this framework do not have unified views on some key social and political issues.
It is true that some views of this political camp are problematic. The sovereigntist belief that individual countries can solve the most pressing problems on their own is an illusion in the modern globalised world. An even bigger problem is the sympathy with global anti-democratic forces, especially Putin’s Russia, whose expansionist policy is one of the main threats to European freedom and security. However, there are considerable differences among the parties labelled as “far-right”. This label is particularly inappropriate for the European Conservatives and Reformists. This group includes, for example, the Civic Democratic Party of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (which no sane person can consider extremist). British Conservatives were also part of this group when their country was still in the European Union. Even the leading Italian ruling party, Brothers of Italy, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which many accuse of (neo)fascist past (though this does not bother them regarding the successors of communist parties), behaves completely pro-European and in line with the standards of liberal democracies.
NOW IS THE TIME TO ESTABLISH A DIFFERENT COALITION; ONE THAT WILL END THE DIRECTION THAT THREATENS THE FREEDOM, SECURITY, AND PROSPERITY OF EUROPEANS WITH ITS MEASURES. ABOVE ALL, THE SO-CALLED GREEN TRANSITION MUST BE STOPPED, WHICH DOES NOT MEAN WE MUST GIVE UP CARING FOR A CLEAN AND HEALTHY NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. HOWEVER, THIS MUST BE DONE THROUGH TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, NOT WITH PROHIBITIONS AND RENUNCIATION IN THE STYLE OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST POLICY OF THE “GREAT LEAP”.
Above all, all these warnings ignore the reasons for the rise of a harder and more Eurosceptic right. As the writer of these lines explained in his previous column (Who Really Threatens Europe’s Future?), this was mainly due to misguided policies implemented by the Union’s institutions in the last mandate, from the unwise “green transition” (whose measures were destroying European industry and agriculture) to the failure to prevent illegal migration, not to mention various ideological madness from the arsenal of the new left. And it was the left-liberal part of European politics that pushed this agenda. That is why citizens “handed them the bill” in the elections.
The change in the balance of power at the European level is an opportunity to reset political and social priorities. To change the course of European politics. It is late, but not too late. Fortunately, the European People’s Party, as the largest group in the European Parliament, has realised in time that things are not going in the right direction. In the past, it too often seconded the left in its ideological projects. Now is the time to establish a different coalition; one that will end the direction that threatens the freedom, security, and prosperity of Europeans with its measures. Above all, the so-called green transition must be stopped, which does not mean we must give up caring for a clean and healthy natural environment. However, this must be done through technological innovation, not with prohibitions and renunciation in the style of the Chinese communist policy of the “Great Leap”. Migration must be managed in a way that allows Europe to accept people from the non-European world who are willing and able to integrate, while firmly closing the door to others (especially those posing a potential security threat). Finally, it is necessary to prevent the abuse of European institutions to impose woke ideas and concepts that undermine European identity.