2024-04-26
Investigate Europe is a "cross-border team of reporters, editors and producers ... delivers in-depth investigative journalism from a changing Europe. Our reporting shines a light on the untold stories, unchecked institutions and hidden structures shaping the continent today".
So it has come to pass that they now shine their "light" upon the resurgent "far right" of rural communities across the EU who disagree with the major themes of the day as promoted by the official leaders of the Union. A worthy cause no doubt, yet the report somehow seems to avoid any contact with the specific issues that may lie behind this regrettable resurgence of support for "far right" parties.
We have featured articles from Investigate Europe before, when their reporting did seem to be interesting and informative.
"IE reporters travelled to four of these rural communities to understand what is driving voters to side with far-right parties"
“The sense of despair is not just limited to economic hardship but also expands to a feeling of being politically disenfranchised and socially alienated”
"This feeling of isolation, both geographically and politically, is not unique to rural areas but it is often amplified there"
"Living in rural areas is not associated with voting for the radical right because individuals there feel more economically deprived or have more socially conservative views ... instead, living in rural areas is associated with feelings that the area where one lives is neglected by the government and its public policies"
Yes, I had to read that a few times before I gave up. Still, we can see where this is going - it's about "feelings" rather than "issues" or "policies".
I'll spare you any more of this verbiage but suffice it to say that nowhere in this article is a single specific issue cited as a cause for this far-rightedness.
Except for that old favourite, "immigration". Oh, and the inevitable "racism".
And of course "populism", although in all logic it's hard to see how in a democracy "populism" is thought to be undesirable - surely that is exactly what elections are designed to measure?
And, in fairness, the inadequate quality of public infrastructure (travel, health, etc) does get a mention, which is a good point that requires attention, but hardly the only relevant point.
"AfD has harnessed local dissatisfaction with authorities"
Hey guys, isn't AfD performing exactly as it should in a democracy?!
They finish with a single quote from a single voter (no doubt selected entirely at random):
“Honestly, I don't know why I voted for Brothers of Italy. All I can tell you is that I eat with my right hand, I write with my right hand, and in this area, we have always voted right"
So that's settled then. They are all far right country bumpkins who have no idea what they are voting for.
But that itself raises a very important issue: the very habit of learned dependence on a favoured political party (so that we plebs don't have to worry ourselves about nasty politics) isn't confined to the country bumpkins, but is endemic across all western democracies and all major political parties.
Since all the major parties behave as controlled fronts for those who rule the world from behind the scenes (you know who you are), it will be the end of our civilisation unless we stop voting by rote, or stop voting altogether.
And I can cross Investigate Europe off my list of interesting sources of authoritative articles.
Follow the money - prominent amongst their list of funders are the Open Society Foundations. They also sell parts of their investigations to "media partners across Europe". If they ever were independent, they don't seem to be independent now.
