European Politics

Interesting there's no usual European east/west or north/south statistical divide here.

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The thing with Croatia is that life is so expensive, it's a sacrifice in any case. There's no chance in hell you're retaining your lifestyle after you get the baby, for the next 20-25 years, unless we're talking about "1%". So if it's your wish to have a child, the default mindset is, and should be, I'm going to grind my ass off until he gets on his feet and have little to nothing left for my own leisure.
 
Well, Vlad isn't known for his love of the free press.

Speaking of people who dislike the free press, Sweden is voting for more neo-Nazis in government.
 
GhostofCain said:
I might be mistaken, but aren't the roots of the (so-called) Sweden Democracts in Swedish fascism?
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They absolutely are.

Edit: For reference, it is my firm belief that one does not merely "transition away" from being a Nazi. The Sweden Democrats are absolutely repulsive without their past; when you consider their past, it is completely transparent that their aims have barely changed, but they've attempted to make their hatred more palatable to the Swedish people by adding some sugar.
 
GhostofCain said:
The rise of fascism in Europe is rather worrying. :(
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Reaction to the refugee crisis, which also boosts negative sentiment toward immigrants in general. As long as moderates keep burying their heads in the sand and continue to sugarcoat the issue, the reaction will only get stronger.
 
GhostofCain said:
I might be mistaken, but aren't the roots of the (so-called) Sweden Democracts in Swedish fascism?
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LooseCannon said:
They absolutely are.

Edit: For reference, it is my firm belief that one does not merely "transition away" from being a Nazi. The Sweden Democrats are absolutely repulsive without their past; when you consider their past, it is completely transparent that their aims have barely changed, but they've attempted to make their hatred more palatable to the Swedish people by adding some sugar.
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Onhell said:
Let's calla spade a spade. In Sweden they are not far-right, they are neo-Nazis.
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I admit I am not familiar with the history of Sweden Democrats so you might be right in that particular case, I don't know. My comments were due to something I've noticed on numerous occasions (I don't mean the forum) - people who are usually very careful in their choice of words regarding various minorities, tend to use labels such as "neo-Nazi" and "fascist" quite liberally. I find it somewhat inconsistent.
 
I do agree with your sentiment Magnus but prevailing alt-right movements in the West are essentially updated and re-packaged versions of Nazism and Fascism. Notion of racial supremacy has been replaced by the notion of inherent cultural supremacy, while racial segregation and anti-Semitism remain as common themes. So in the case of those movements, the labels are aptly used.
 
The Flash said:
Reaction to the refugee crisis, which also boosts negative sentiment toward immigrants in general. As long as moderates keep burying their heads in the sand and continue to sugarcoat the issue, the reaction will only get stronger.
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Yes, true enough. But there is a general polarization of politics occurring - similar to the polarization that occurred across national lines in the 1930s. It's a little frightening.

Magnus said:
I admit I am not familiar with the history of Sweden Democrats so you might be right in that particular case, I don't know. My comments were due to something I've noticed on numerous occasions (I don't mean the forum) - people who are usually very careful in their choice of words regarding various minorities, tend to use labels such as "neo-Nazi" and "fascist" quite liberally. I find it somewhat inconsistent.
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That's a bit of a strawman, don't you think? There is a difference between right wing (UK Conservative Party), far-right (UKIP), and neo-Nazi (BNP). I can recognize them all. I don't go around calling average right-wing politicians Nazis. I go around calling people who are members of parties that express or have historically expressed admiration for the policies of Adolf Hitler Nazis.
 
I have the impression that the Sweden Democrats - and their voters - are a mix of everything from rather centrist people who favor stricter immigration policies, through the standard protest voters who feel alienated by the traditional parties, to outright actual neo-Nazi sympathizers.

I am quite sure that neo-Nazis don't equal 20% of the Swedish population. However, Sweden has both had relatively high immigration and a very outspoken reluctance to discuss in public the issues this might cause. Then when there are problems, the traditional parties have left an open field for those who want to blame the immigrants for everything that's wrong. And I am certain many of the votes for SD are protest votes.

That being said, Sweden has traditionally had a stronger neo-Nazi movement than the other Nordic countries. And SD's roots are in this movement.
 
LooseCannon said:
There is a difference between right wing (UK Conservative Party), far-right (UKIP), and neo-Nazi (BNP).
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I would argue that the tories are, for the most part, centre-right (certainly in recent years), UKIP closely aligns with those at the right in the UK Conservative Party Spectrum (I would call most of UKIP ideas right wing, but not far-right), and the far-right/neo-Nazi area is reserved to BNP and EDL. I am not saying that some far-right voters might not vote for UKIP though (as also have done some traditional Labour supporters).
 
GhostofCain said:
I would argue that the tories are, for the most part, centre-right (certainly in recent years), UKIP closely aligns with those at the right in the UK Conservative Party Spectrum (I would call most of UKIP ideas right wing, but not far-right), and the far-right/neo-Nazi area is reserved to BNP and EDL.
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I can accept this correction, and of course I agree that people are supporting UKIP based on their personal desires for some policy platforms. This is similar to SD - 20% of Swedes are not fascists, but they are convincing themselves it is okay to vote for people who were officially part of the neo-Nazis within the last quarter-century, and whose influence remains palpable.
 
LooseCannon said:
That's a bit of a strawman, don't you think? There is a difference between right wing (UK Conservative Party), far-right (UKIP), and neo-Nazi (BNP). I can recognize them all. I don't go around calling average right-wing politicians Nazis. I go around calling people who are members of parties that express or have historically expressed admiration for the policies of Adolf Hitler Nazis.
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I did say I don't mean the forum, nor particularly you although it was a comment to your post. I had no idea the SD "have historically expressed admiration for the policies of Adolf Hitler Nazis"; if that's the case, my comment was obviously missing the point.
 
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