Americans should have no truck with European ethno-nationalism |
It is now an explicit U.S. foreign policy goal to promote parties that, in Europe, are considered subversive.
“American diplomacy should continue to stand up for unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history,” says the national security strategy. “America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism.”
The old Atlanticist parties are out of favor. The new radical parties — National Rally in France, AfD in Germany, and Vox in Spain — are in. Germany’s intelligence service considers AfD a threat to democracy; the White House sees it as a preferred partner.
The Trump administration, in fairness, speaks for many European voters. Anti-immigrant and ethno-nationalist parties lead the opinion polls in most European Union countries (although, under proportional voting, most would fall short of a majority).
Calling them names has lost its power. Leftist hypochondria about fascism has devalued the word. George Orwell observed that, when........