Right wing Parties Will Use Coronavirus to Attack Roma

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/slovakia-closes-off-five-roma-settlements-due-to-coronavirus/

Slovakia is currently under a moderate (mostly centrist) government and so apart from longstanding hostility to the Roma community, there's little fear (at the moment) of the far-right coming to power.

And yet that's not the case when it comes to other V4 members, especially Poland and Hungary the latter of which has slipped farther to the right in light of Orban's recent power grab on the basis of emergency powers.  Both Poland and Hungary are already facing stiff opposition from Brussels and this is likely to increase after the pandemic calms down. Poland has forged a fairly tight alliance with Washington and thus will have the support of elements within the US Establishment. Orban is also supported especially by US Evangelicals, but his battle is likely to become more contentious especially if he continues to use the pandemic as a means of consolidating power.

Of course Matteo Salvini is already using Italian anger toward Brussels as a means to revitalise his movement and political momentum. The pandemic has revealed a lack of unity within Europe and an unwillingness on the part of the wealthier countries to aid the suffering second-tier nations in the South. This plays into a long held perception by the people of places like Spain, Italy and Greece and you can be certain the Right will capitalise on the stress and anger generated by the virus. The EU has taken some measures and yet has been bogged down by difficulties surrounding its own bureaucracy. And there is an unwillingness (especially in Germany) to provide direct aid in the form of relief, or in some cases even in the form of loans. The latter would require austerity measures and obviously there will be considerable resistance to such an arrangement as now broken economies will be trying to 'bounce back' after the all clear is given.

In some nations such as Poland, Austria and Hungary there is a general right-wing nationalist resistance to Brussels that continues to gain traction. In the South, with nations like Italy, Spain and Greece there are nationalist movements but there is also a general populist resistance and resentment toward Brussels over some of the economic aspects of the Euro and the way in which Brussels and the more powerful Northern European economies have been able to exert control over their Southern members.

But in all these cases, in all these examples of nationalism at work, there is a hostility to the Roma or Gypsy populations. Even some of the centrist parties are inclined toward anti-Roma policies. The Roma represent a rallying point that even many casual or less than zealous nationalists can embrace. And thus they are a convenient target for those on the Right who want to work segments of the population into a frenzy. They are to put it simple, a convenient scapegoat. This truth becomes even more pronounced at a time like this.

The Roma community has its problems to be sure and yet there are Evangelical types among them that seek to live decent and productive lives. Of course the prosperous West has standards concerning 'decency' and 'productivity' that should potentially trouble any of us. While there's no doubt many Roma remain trapped in an ethical system rooted in (a somewhat understandable but misguided and unacceptable) nonconformity, nevertheless they shouldn't have to become bourgeois to be reckoned acceptable. This is the issue for some people's opposition to them. In other cases it's their social standing plus their race that comes into play. Of course they are a mixed people and yet many (but certainly not all) are dark and thus they are perceived as different. Their story is both fascinating and somewhat sad. They represent a constant problem and frustration for the people would run society, all the more if those people are seeking for uniformity... either in culture or life and in other cases in terms of race.

And yet in many cases the Roma just want to be left alone, something the Sacralist ethos and heritage (even when masquerading as modern Secularism) won't allow.