Misunderstanding Europe’s Turn to the Right

Slavoj Zizek, a Slovenian philosopher, gave a talk in Turkey recently, recounted here. He deserves praise for pointing out that the prohibition against minarets in Switzerland was matched by a similar prohibition in Turkey against building churches. But he also said:

Among European leaders – especially right wing politicians – today there is constant talk of “a European crisis.” These leaders see this as a sort of Islamist threat, but that is not a threat that is any more than marginal. The real threat I see is this very resurgence of right-wing politics.

The reason for the resurgence of right-wing politics is the complete failure of the left to deal with the problem of Islamists in Europe and the havoc they want to wreak. That is why people on the left like Phyllis Chesler and Bruce Bawer are now on the right. People are appalled at the murder of Theo van Gogh, and then they see the left worrying not about the murder of one of their own, but rather about a backlash against Muslims. They then turn to the right, or even to the far right, for support. As the saying goes, any port in a storm.