Globalism v. Nationalism Revisited

The empire strikes back

19th March 2019 Jonathon Davies Authoritarianism, European Union, Politics 0
Jonathaon, Davies, Going Postal
People’s Vote march, TeaMeister – Licence CC BY 2.0

A while ago I wrote a piece on Globalism v. Nationalism. In essence I argued that the old Left v. Right politics was breaking down, and that instead politics was realigning on Globalist v. Nationalist lines. Those who were pro-Globalism, Pro-EU, open borders, mass uncontrolled immigration, social justice, big multinational corporations, championing diversity and being generally Blairite, are on one side. Nationalists who are anti-Globalist, Anti-EU, for strong borders and immigration controls, more favourably disposed to localism, big on national sovereignty, primacy of UK law, having more “old-school” values, were on the other. These are generalisations I know, many people will already be rushing to tell me they don’t fit in to that category, etc. But you get the general picture.

Recent events have borne out this idea. Indeed, we can see this process happening before our very eyes. The EU referendum started to crystalize things.  Left wing groups and cultural Marxists who favour refugees and migrants were campaigning for open borders, alongside business and political elites like Richard Branson and Tony Blair, both multi-millionaires and prime examples of capitalism. On the other side, left wing patriots from old school Labour working classes, that were losing out on jobs and wages to migrants, were allied with conservative traditionalists who wanted to restore British sovereignty. Both were appalled by the growth of radical Islam. This was seen in UKIP, which forged a vertical coalition of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds to fight for leaving the EU and against globalism. They took votes from both Tories and Labour, gaining 4 million votes in 2015. Once the EU referendum had been won, they then went back to these original parties as seen in the 2017 general election.

However, these forces didn’t just go away. Oh no. Accept the result of the largest democratic exercise in UK history just because it didn’t go your way? No, that’s for the little people. Despite the EU referendum result and the 2017 general election result, where parties that had a manifesto commitment to leaving the EU won over 80% of the vote, alongside the failure of anti-EU parties in the 2018 local elections, the globalists were not willing to go quietly. They set about building grassroots campaigns to try and overturn the referendum result or to try and organise another referendum, while launching wave after wave of legal cases aimed at stopping the UK leaving. All have so far failed. All the while the tensions within the two main UK parties, the (so-called) Conservatives and the (alleged) Labour Party, was bubbling away beneath the surface, occasionally rising to the top and provoking outbursts.

Parties within parties have been forming, the lines between them becoming more distinct the nearer we get to leaving the EU. The European Research Group (ERG) is one example inside of the Tory Party. It is avowedly anti-EU and currently chaired by Jacob Rees-Mogg. This group had been at the forefront for opposing Theresa may’s withdrawal agreement. Within the Labour Party there are those that support leaving the EU, voting in favour and often defying party leader Jeremy Corbyn in order to facilitate the UK leaving the EU. An examples here would be Kate Hoey and Frank Field. These would fall on the generally nationalist side of things, even if they don’t necessarily identify as such.

In contrast, there are those in both parties who either fall in to the globalist side, or even openly identify as such. MPs within both Labour and Tory parties have rebelled against their party to vote to try and stop or delay leaving. Prime examples here are Anna Soubry and Chuka Umunna. It was widely rumoured that Labour MPs would break away from the party. They eventually did in February of this year. Antisemitism was cited (literally a whole other article), but much was also to do with the position on leaving the EU. The globalist Independent Group was formed, with speculation rife that others, such as Soubry from the Tories, would join. This was probably the safest bet in history. Sure enough, she duly obliged. Both the nationalists and the globalists are finding they have more in common with others in their group than they do within their own parties, that are still working on the basis of the left and right of politics.

More evidence for this comes from Italy. Matteo Salvini and his Lega Party did well in the most recent election, along with the 5 Star Party. Salvini is most definitely of the right, while 5 Star are more left-wing. They formed a government together as a coalition, with much scoffing from the established parties and the usual assorted array of media types, saying that the government wouldn’t last five minutes. Well, here we are in 2019 and it’s still going. Both parties are essentially nationalist and reject the globalist outlook. They are anti-establishment and anti-EU, or at the very least Eurosceptic. Lega’s popularity continues to rise, as Salvini takes a tough line in migration.

We have seen the rise of populist parties across Europe, with new parties that don’t fit in to established categories, rising to challenge the old. During 2018 we saw the rise of the AfD in Germany, both in the federal parliament and regional parliaments. In Hungary, Viktor Orban continues as Prime Minister, much to the annoyance of the EU. In Slovenia, the SDS were the largest party at the general election. In Poland, the PiS party continues in power, again to the annoyance of the EU. In Austria the Freedom Party is in coalition government. In Sweden, the Sweden Democrats polled 18% in the general election. In Denmark, the Danish People’s Party is on the rise. In Finland, The Finns party also polled 18%. In the Netherlands, Going Postal favourite Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party finished second in the election, increasing their vote share and gaining more seats. These parties generally fall along nationalist lines.

As I mentioned earlier, the Globalists have not just taken things lying down. So how have they responded? You may have noticed I missed France of the list of previous countries. Current French President, Macron, is the globalist poster boy. He is big on EU integration and has recently called for an “EU renaissance.” Well, Macron has had a shocker. Amid plummeting popularity, he tried to introduce new green fuel taxes. Globalists love a fuel tax. Or indeed any tax they can use to signal their virtue, especially if they can link it to “climate change.” This didn’t go down well with the Gilet Jaune on the street, who promptly organised mass protests and indulged in the traditional French pastime of burning things. What was the response?

As for the UK, I have written previously that those who are pro-EU are individualists, while those who are nationalists are more likely collectivists. Some people shy away from collectivism, as it conjures up images of socialism. However, this link is starting to fade (except in Venezuela) and is more in keeping with wanting the best outcome for the nation, people or identity group. This is in opposition to the globalist view, which is “if I’m fine then everything must be o.k.”

Added to this, across the EU and particularly in the UK, the globalists seem to have acquired a monumental new superpower. This is the ability to filter out any and all negative news or action relating to the EU. When presented with stark facts, such as the impact of the Euro on those countries outside Germany and particularly Greece, Spain and France, they have the ability to turn a blind eye or pretend it isn’t happening. Everything they disagree with is labelled as lies. When confronted with Brexit and the rise of nationalism across Europe, they blame nebulous concepts and groups, such as the “far-right” and the phantom legions of Russian agents and online bots. Anything but actually deal with the real issues. Doing so would shatter their aforementioned world view of “if I’m fine then everything must be o.k.” Vast swathes of the population are still labelled as thick, uneducated racists, some remoaners are even still on about “The Bus.”

As I write this, MPs have voted down Theresa May’s deal, and also voted to take no deal “off the table” (although it is not legally binding). They then voted to try try and extend Article 50. The big question is, will the EU go for it? The EU itself may well be torn on this point. Chief Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt (the real one, not the parody), is against it as he doesn’t want it to interfere with EU elections. The EU is facing a populist uprising in the May elections, it could do without the troublesome Brits electing “73 Nigel Farages” as was said. Many people like myself would go out and vote for anti-EU parties if Article 50 was delayed. I have not voted in an EU election before, I certainly would this time.

On the other hand, some such as Donald Tusk may favour an extension. Why? There are £39 billion reasons why. The EU loves our cash, if not our politics. They have also mooted a £1 billion a month bill for extending Article 50. Some may still harbour views that if enough pressure is applied, the UK may give up on leaving, maybe hold a second referendum or revoke article 50. However, this flies in the face of recent opinion polls in the UK, which show support for no deal hardening. Still, when did the EU ever listen to public opinion? The globalists in the UK certainly won’t.

Added to all this, Bercow has now thrown a spanner in the works by declaring that Parliament can’t vote on the same motion twice, meaning no third meaningful vote on May’s unaltered deal. What will happen next is anyone’s guess. Will this also mean no second referendum, as it has already been previously voted down? Will it mean no deal? Personally, I think May’s zombie deal will come back from the dead once again for a third vote in some shape or form. Who knows if it will pass? Will the ERG finally breakaway to form its own party, similar to the Independent Group? Will May remain as Prime Minister? Will we finally leave? Once again we are left with more questions than answers. I labelled this piece “The Empire Strikes Back.” I sincerely hope that in a few months I am writing a piece labelled “Return of the Jedi” and not “Revenge of the Sith.”
 

© Jonathon Davies 2019
 

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