Populism and the End of the European Union

abeldangerlive (45)in #steempress • 6 years ago

From Italy to Hungary, the Euro-skeptics are on the march

by Justin Raimondo Posted on June 07, 2018

The newly-installed US ambassador to Germany, Richard (Ric) Grenell, is at the center of a Trumped-up "controversy," after having given an interview to Breitbart saying that he's looking forward to encouraging beleaguered European conservatives. The NeverTrumpers went wild: neocon Anne Applebaum accused him of being part of a conspiracy on the part of the Trump administration to back "nativist, pro-Russia and anti-pluralist" forces – as opposed to the globalist, neo-liberal, cravenly pro-Washington (as opposed to pro-American) sock puppets we’ve been backing previously. Applebaum was joined by German Communist leader Sarah Wagenknecht, a leader of the far-left wing of the far-left "Die Linke" Party, who demanded that Grenell be expelled from Germany.

This little brouhaha underscores the utter hypocrisy of US political elites: ever since the first cold war, Washington has routinely utilized its diplomatic apparatus in the service of client parties and movements, most of which are directly funded by Washington. We funded and supported the Ukrainians who overthrew the democratically-elected President of their country and installed a new regime: the long list of recent regime-changing campaigns, complete with US-funded "democrats" in the front lines, is too long to even list – and of course our record of overthrowing governments and installing "friendly" ones during the cold war era stretches back to the late 1940s and early 50s, from the Middle East to Latin America. Now, suddenly, neocons like Ms. Applebaum are objecting to US "meddling"! Gee, why the abrupt turnabout?

The reason is because the populist rebellion against commie-Europa, a.k.a. the European Union, is in full swing, with the Brexiteers champing at the bit as the Tories betray them and the Italians driving out the pro-EU parties and demanding that Brussels get off their backs. Both Hungary and Poland are defying the Euro-crats, with the former saying no to the open borders edicts coming from Brussels and the Poles refusing to kowtow to the demands of the Eurocrats on the judiciary and other matters. The very last thing the Euro-weenies want to see is an American ambassador, who loudly supported Donald Trump during the presidential campaign, openly rallying the populist right.

While I don't think it’s wise to intervene in the affairs of foreign countries, Grenell’s Breitbart interview implies nothing of the sort: he merely notes that a populist form of conservatism is sweeping not only the US but also Europe, and who can deny that this is so? Secondly, it has been past US policy to support "former" communists and other leftists – and so whatever rhetorical support Grenell and the Trump administration give to their overseas admirers will balance the scales. And, mind you, this support is purely rhetorical, unlike the billions of dollars we’ve poured into left-wing, jihadist, and other dubious outfits throughout the world.

The power of ideas is what’s driving the populist upsurge, not the "soft power" resources of the US and its allies, and the latest victory of this Trumpian trend is in Italy, where both immigration and the economics of austerity are issues driving voters to the polls and driving elites out of power. There the old parties – the Christian Democrats, the Socialists, the Communists, etc. – have practically disappeared, and a brace of new untested movements have arisen to take their place. An alliance of the insurgent "Five Star" movement, which is generally leftist in tone (albeit anti-immigrant), and the Lega Nord, a right-wing movement centered in northern Italy, won the recent elections with nearly 70 percent of the vote.

Please go to Antiwar.com to read the entire article.

ITALY: The Election That Will CRASH THE EU