Sweden's SD while still a long way from holding power is clearly
on the rise. The Moderate Party (M) held power for eight years and was only
toppled in 2014. While the Moderate Party doesn't quite qualify as being Far Right,
it is often characterised as Right-wing due to its economic and defense
policies. The party had established a strong relationship with the United
States and moved toward NATO (of which Sweden is not a member). The Moderate
Party involved Sweden in the Libya affair (regime change) which was highly out
of character for the usually 'neutral' Sweden and signaled a shift in their
politics.
It's probably not a coincidence that the Moderate Party which
was actually quite friendly with the Bush administration opened the
investigation regarding Julian Assange and put out the request for extradition.
In Germany, the Right-wing movement Pegida continues to rise
and should be noted. While there are also huge anti-Pegida protests and marches
taking place, current events seem to favour the growth of Pegida and like
organisations.
The New Year's Eve events across Germany, the harassment and
assaults on women will likely give these groups a huge boost and may even take
the debate and social tensions to a new level. It's probably too soon to fully
grasp the scope and import of what happened that night, but for the Right this
may be a turning point. The media's hesitation in reporting these events and
the apprehension of some public officials in outright pursuing and addressing
these events has engendered suspicion and hostility.
Europe is becoming a powder keg.
They won't be dancing to the Merkel song after this.
