Nationalism

Europe’s difficulties are undoubtedly causing a rise in populism and Euroscepticism, and while it needs to be more democratic, it needs to push for a more tolerate and humanist future; built through education, exchange and understanding.

The crisis of the Eurozone has given new arguments for a radically more federal Europe. But what does it concretely mean from a Green European point of view? An interview with Monica Frassoni, co-chair of the European Green Party and Per Garthon, former Swedish MEP.

With a rerun of Greek elections taking place this weekend, what are the prospects that the political upheaval in the country will present an opening for the Greens?

In October 2011, the Heinrich Boell foundation presented the results of a long collaborative project on the future of Europe. This project was an invitation to debate the project that we wish to see implemented for Europe in the 21st century. This reaction calls for a debate to be developed on two levels: firstly, to debate the causes and solutions to bring to the crisis and, secondly, the transitional dialogue to undertake in order to widen the social base of a renewed concept of European solidarity.

The success of the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the first round of the French Presidential election, and the success of similar nationalistic parties in other European countries, has left many wondering how the greens and progressive forces should respond to this perceived threat to European values.

This brave critique of the ‘new German nationalism’ is welcome. But there are two mains weaknesses in the position of Habermas and his colleagues: the crisis does not allow us to re-start from the beginnings of the European Union. What the European democracy needs is a real tax revolution, a kind of New Deal or a Marshall Plan, something like a social movement and maybe a step aside from the structures that were designed to exclude it.

The European Project lacks any significant ingredient of emotional bonding. In the absence of a “European soul”, the existing rational, bureaucratic structure is doomed to remain a distant presence for the citizens of Europe.

As the Hungarian government continues to receive criticism for its undemocratic ‘reforms’, LMP co-founder Kristóf Szombati discusses whether they mark a return of nationalist ideology to Europe.