The "Black sheep" of the European crisis

Europe is in crisis, it’s what we all know and can’t deny anymore. While travelling to university I like to read the newspapers but lately it’s starting to become highly annoying. Not because the crisis has become a normal fact but simply the focus is only laid on the problem itself. I know the crisis is gigantically damaging for Europe and even for the whole world but what is going on behind the crisis is maybe even more scary.  

So what is going on then, right? Well it is quite simple, people are starting to lose their jobs, earn less money, paying more tax but for who or what? And that is where it goes so wrong this moment. The western European governments are asking their citizens for more and more money, for example increasing tax and cost for social security.  This all while these same governments lent gigantic amounts, talking about millions of Euros, to countries who are in economical crisis. And why are these countries in an economical crisis, well because they were never bothered to care about their finances and lived like we Europeans say;  “As gods in the south of France”.

So now you might think, what is the problem then? Well it’s the opinion of the citizens of west-Europe, let’s say France, Belgium, The Netherland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Scandinavian countries.  I know Switzerland is not part of Europe but geographically it does and so does it support Europe in the battle against the crisis. Those countries all show one thing in common,  the extreme growth in supporters of nationalist and right wing parties and ideas. 

Open the doors for abuse? NO! (Swizterland)

In the Netherland the political party of Geert Wilders, the PVV (Party of freedom), is the second party of the country, in Finland the party called Perussuomalaiset (True Finns) won the election, in Switzerland the party called Schweizerische Volkspartei (Swiss people’s party) is the biggest in parliament and i can continue with this country by country. Everywhere right wing and nationalist parties start to win the confidence and support of the people.

And let us not forget the horrific act of the terror attacks happened in Norway this year by Anders Behring Breivik, killing in Total 77 innocent and young persons. All died because according to Breivik  we should protect and save the European culture.

This move towards the right show the growing opinion that immigrants are the cause of the crisis. Within many countries there is no “us” anymore, there has come a growing “we and them” culture. Of course I speak in general but I’m sure a big majority of Europeans will agree with me on this. Now am I not willing to go as far as comparing this situation with the crisis in Germany in 1930ths . Because of that crisis Adolf Hitler came to power with as result the killing of 6 million Jews and many other persons. But for sure the growth of right wing parties and ideas is something we should pay more attention to than we are giving it now.

Are we willing to give up our ideas of freedom, equal rights included in that?  Freedom that counts for everybody and that we are trying to spread in other part of the world. While more and more people get affected by the crisis, the search for the guilty is getting stronger. And while our political leaders, in general now without nationalist and extreme right ideas, keep silent and keep their eyes closed, it are the nationalist and right wings parties offering that “black sheep”. What will happen in the coming year will greatly depend on how this problem is dealt with right now. We learned for our past that this hate towards immigrants can cause immense damage.

While thinking about this in my daily bus trip to university I came to the simple conclusion. History has always been a circle, through the years we see that same happenings happen all over again. In a different form and identity. Will this be such example, let hope not. Let’s hope we did learn from the past and get back together  to fight the real cause of the crisis, the gigantic failure of our political leaders throughout the last decade. 

Marije

Posted in: Column Marije