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Norbert Hofer: Far Right?

camouflage

camouflage

gaslit at scale.
Seems to be a trend recently in the media to describe parties and political personalities as Far Right, but I'm not sure if that's true or a sort of Project Fear designed to guard the border of acceptable policy re the neoliberal establishment. Norbet Hofer is a good example, but the AFD in Germany is another, François Fillon in France another. Even Trump in the US actually and Admiral Ackbar Nigel Farage in the UK.

Not saying I agree with the various policies of these people, they're definitely all rightwing... (but then so was Hillary Clinton, so is the EU generally) I'm just wondering if the term Far Right has become really overused these days and for a particular agenda to do with making some peoples politics untouchable. I definitely see Frances National Front and the LePens as Far Right... but is that term being devoided of meaning these days? Is rightwing populism the same as Far Right now, does Far Right no longer mean fascists, neo-nazis and white supremacists? Dominar Rygel the 16th Nigel Farage of Farscape Ukip fame obviously used immigration as a tactic in his campaign but he wasn't exactly Nick Griffin, to be fair he always struck me as a fairly standard Daily Mail reading Tory... not sure how meaningful a difference there is between that sort of thing and the thoughts and reflections found in Mein Kamf anymore. Perhaps it's an Overton Window thing... today they talk about controlling immigration and reaffirming national sovereignty, tommorow it'll be that much easier to round all us ethnics and jooz up and do away with us- as per the standard meaning of Far Right to my mind. Come to think of it, was Thatcher Far Right too?

As I've op'd about this particular charismatic Austrian and his bold new vision for the volk and I know nothing of Austrian politics, just some opinions on that will do.
 
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camouflage said:
Well thanks anyway bye.
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But before I go perhaps you should explore the nature of what you consider the far right, have a glance at the radical right, and think about whether the lack of political uniforms is confusing you. in addition to which do you have to be far right in all things to be far right, eg Thatcher taking her economic policy from pinochet's favoured economists while she didn't imo lead a radical or far right party.
 
uk_eu_referendum.png

Remain voters were themselves divided between:

  1. Those enthusiastically embracing the EU's prevailing economics (neoliberal/free trade) but unhappy with the Social Charter and Chapter — especially on migration. This is a position held by many Conservatives.
  2. Those happy with both the economic and social provisions, which includes many people on the centre/right of the Labour Party, almost all Lib Dems and some wet Tories
  3. Those enthused by at least most of the EU's social provisions, but rejecting corporate values and neoliberal economics (left-of-centre social liberals eg Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn).
Brexit voters were similarly divided between:

  1. Those rejecting the EU's prevailing economics but accepting, at least to some extent, the social dimension (many Laboure supporters)
  2. Those rejecting both (quintessentially UKIP)
  3. Those comfortable with many of the EU's economic provisions, if only they could easily exit the Social Chapter (Conservative)
Click to expand...

The Political Compass

As for EU politics: It has all gone a bit Pete Tong

eu2012.png
 
mikey mikey said:
Loves Thatcher. That's extreme enough for me.
Click to expand...

So why is Thatcher not generally thought of as Britains Fascist Furher? In the Political Compass chart, what sort of parties actually occupy the tenth blue column? Also they've written down country names but what does that mean... I reckon it would be more useful if they'd noted down the party names instead. To my mind the danger here is that the concept of Far-Rightness is effectively normalised, opposed (in a haughty fail-to-address-issues sort of way) but normalised. Le Pen and their lot are now just popular and increasingly maintsream. Is it that the Far Right is being normalised or is normal now Far Right? Does all this mean that Le Pen is still a freak or are the freaks really taking over? Is the Far Right no longer all that Far...

And if calling these positions Far Right is just our 6-owned Media's way of defending the established order, well isn't that the kind of dangerous manoeuvre that could blow up in all our faces if more an more mainstream Europeans start to think... " Well if that's far Right, then sure.... maybe I am Far Right, maybe I need to be reading more Breitbart!" It's a kind of Boy who cried Wolfenstein effect iyswim, which I consider dangerous.
 
Far Right has been normalised for years now. The political "centre" is hawkish, pro-coporate, pro-austerity, anti-union and draconian in its stance on surveilance. Building walls across your borders and detaining people without trial, torture etc, is the new normal. Zero hours contracts and life-long job insecurity is normal now. Tuition fees of £9000+ are normal now. PFI and the privatisation of the NHS is normal now. Food banks being used by millions while we have the highest number of billionaires in Europe is the new normal now.

Somebody like me that supports collective bargaining, social mobility, human rights, nuclear disarmament, pensions and disability and umemployment benefit is now Far Left.
 
mikey mikey said:
Far Right has been normalised for years now. The political "centre" is hawkish, pro-coporate, pro-austerity, anti-union and draconian in its stance on surveilance. Building walls across your borders and detaining people without trial, torture etc, is the new normal. Zero hours contracts and life-long job insecurity is normal now. Tuition fees of £9000+ are normal now. PFI and the privatisation of the NHS is normal now. Food banks being used by millions while we have the highest number of billionaires in Europe is the new normal now.

Somebody like me that supports collective bargaining, social mobility, human rights, nuclear disarmament, pensions and disability and umemployment benefit is now Far Left.
Click to expand...

Yup, completely agree. In a way I guess I'm asking if the same is being done on the Right (somehow, for some reason) as is done to the likesof Jeremy Corbyn. Literally Trotsky!!! on the one hand, Literally Hitler!!! on the other, I guess that would make sense on the right hand side as far as driving labour costs down and turning us all into atomised free-floating consumers detached from any sense of a coherant society. The same media that shows so much concern for immigrants and 'economic migrants' as far as Rightwing populist politics is concerned doesn't seem all that bothered about questioning the wars and unfunny games with jihadists that drive the refugees in the first place or the economic arrangements (via the IMF, World Bank, WTO, NAFTA, EU subsidies etc) that drive people in the Global South to attempt to follow the wealth to Western capitals (how dare they leave their resource gathering zone sweatshop platforms to look for some sort of an economic future for themselves and their children, bloody parasites).

eta, one thing these Literally-Hitler!!! types have in common is a tendency toward being critical of NATO and the EU, perhaps that's why... can't think it would because of their general Rightyness elswhere.
 
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Hofer is pretty much a bog-standard product of post-war Austrian establishment politics: Conservative, nationalist and anti-immigrant. People tend to see the Freedom Party as "far right", and it is, measured against what we might call the median political position in Europe. The policies and views espoused by the party are authoritarian, and very much on the right of the political spectrum, but "far right" isn't the correct description IMO. They're the hard right of establishment politics, but compared to the far right in Austria, they're democracy-favouring pissants.
 
According to some rando on chitter, the exit polls give it to Hofer's opponent.

Exit polls. Exit polls, everybody.
 
So how was Hofer seen off? What sort of campaign did the SPO run? Anyone knowledgeable on Austrian politics want to help us out?
 
There's a far right that wins an election and then tries to win another term. And there's a far right that wins an election and then enthusiastically tries to make sure that it's the last. A useful distinction but you never really know until after the first election which type you've got. Best to be pessimistic: "Scratch a Tory".
 
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