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Throughout Europe, nearly all countries have parties wanting foreigners evicted, returning them to their "rightful citizens," whatever that means, given how many have had roots elsewhere at other times.
Moreover, fascist parties notably once had leftist leaders who turned right. Mussolini, in fact, invented the word "fascism," practicing it destructively with his Axis partners. Today's model is more subtle, but just as dangerous, eroding democracy and social justice for unchallenged power.
As a result, socially democratic rule virtually disappeared. Neoliberalism replaced it, notably in Nordic countries. Right-wing parties rule them, except Norway, run by a Labour/Socialist Left/Centre Party coalition, its so-called red-green alternative.
Challenging it is Norway's Progress Party - conservative, xenophobic, and hard-line. Perhaps Breivik's rampage warned Labour to shift right, tone down its Israeli criticism, think twice about supporting an independent Palestine, and remain committed to NATO's global imperialism.
Sweden's right turn got some observers to ask about European social democracy's future. Is it quiescent or lost? Last September, its Social Democrats lost badly, its worst showing since 1914. Its right-wing Alliance prevailed. A far right anti-immigrant party won seats for the first time.
It matters because Sweden's virtuous middle straddled capitalist and communist extremes. Now, however, for the first time in over 80 years, it's over. It no longer represents social democratic values. If lost in Sweden, Norway, and other Nordic countries, can they exist anywhere? Is tyranny over the horizon?
Notably since the 1990s, Social Democrats systematically undermined former policies, losing popular support as a result. After its electoral loss, Svenska Dagbladet (a daily newspaper) said Sweden's political landscape changed fundamentally under "a center-right government without a majority, a crashed social democracy, and a kingmaker party with roots in the far right."
Rising ethno-nationalist/anti-multiculturalism throughout Europe resides there, in Denmark and Norway. Is fascism a short leap ahead? Nazism arose from hard times. They demand change that can include more than planned, including radical right turns, intolerance, totalitarianism, and global wars, creating upheaval and unfit to live in societies.
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