English reporter: What do you think of western civilisation Mr. Gandhi?
Ghandi: I think it would be a very good idea.
This famous anecdote is attributed to the great Indian independence leader, Mahatma Ghandi. Whether he actually uttered those words or not, the point is still valid. We live in a western centric world, politically and historically. That perspective has been a barrier in underestimating the influence and competency of other countries from different spheres. Judging by the fiasco that has engulfed western politics in the last few weeks, it seems ‘western civilisation’ is needed more than ever.
Let us begin at home. I had to scoff at Micheál Martin’s hyperbolic assertion, after the newly elected Dáil met, that the opposition tried to ‘subvert the constitution’ for the first time in 100 years! Surprising, given Mr. Martin’s own passion for history, that he seemed to forget his party’s own founder, Eamonn De Valera, went one better and actually did subvert democracy. In 1922, he not only rejected the majority vote on the Treaty, but followed this up by refusing to accept the majority of the electorate, who voted overwhelming for pro-treaty parties, Sinn Fein (Pro treaty side lead by Collins) Labour, and the Farmer’s Party, propelling us into a bitter civil war.
The nation became a laughing stock when Michael Lowry and his group of ‘Regional Independents’ decided they wanted to run with the hare and hunt with the hound. Simply put, Michael Lowry and co, want opposition speaking rights, despite being part of the government. They were involved in discussions on a ‘Programme for Government’ and gave their ‘support for five years and five budgets’. Those who want opposition speaking rights from this technical group of seven Regional TDs are: Seán Canney, who is representing the new government in his role of Junior Minister in the Department of Transport; Marian Harkin, who got a junior Ministry in the Department of Higher Education, Noel Grealish as a Super Junior Minster for the Government in the Department of Agriculture and Kevin Moran as the Minister of State of Public Expenditure. Separate to that group, independent Michael Healy-Rae has also got a Ministry. That’s some booty the independents got. (I did warn ye in last month’s WCP). The opposition rebelled at this smoke and mirrors move, Harris and Martin sulked on the steps of Dáil Éireann, like kids whose birth party had been ruined, and the international media had a field day at the ensuing breakdown of order in the Oireachtas. The new Ceann Comhairle, Verona Murphy, who’s many duties include ‘impartiality’ and to preside over ‘standing orders’ (such as speaking rights) was already compromised given that a voting pact had been made with FF and FG to elect her as the new Ceann Comhairle, nominated by…waited for it…the Regional Independent group. We have since been told no written agreements were made and FG and FF had free choice when voting for the Ceann Comhairle. Wasn’t I foolish to think the nod and wink of politics belonged in the last century! Stupid me.
Meanwhile across town in the world’s leading democracy, what took Congress years to deliver through debate and legislation was struck off in an hour by what the Americans call ‘Executive Orders’. (I’m not sure what Putin calls them when he does the same in Russia). With the stroke of a pen presidents can simply undo any legislation they don’t agree with. This is not a ‘Trump’ thing. In fact he is well down a list that includes,Obama, Bush, Clinton, Carter, Nixon, and Regan who is top of the pops. Those Executive Orders can be challenged by politicians in the courts if they are deemed unconstitutional.
If that’s not bad enough, the president can also undo the work of law enforcement agencies, the courts and juries with a magic trick called a ‘pardon’. If Mr. Martin needs to brush up on what subversion really is, he should look no further than the 2021 attack on the Congress by organised Trump supporters such as the Proud Boys and others, who responded to Trump’s claims that the election had been stolen. His own vice president Mike Pence and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi feared for their lives that day, police officers were assaulted, and according to the New York times, 30 million dollars-worth of damage was inflicted on Capital Hill. Trump has pardoned all but a handful of the 1,583 rioters, whose convictions range from, assault, police obstruction, using a weapon and causing serious harm to an officer, to lesser crimes such as trespass. Biden’s figures are higher. During his term as President he pardoned over 6,000 people. He told everyone he would let the judiciary do their job, but went on to pardon his son Hunter, who was facing jail time for illegal firearms, tax evasion and drugs. He followed suit with some more good old-fashioned medieval nepotism by pardoning his own brother James and sister Valarie and their spouses, on charges they were facing that related to business fraud.
Elsewhere in western civilisation, Germany, who more than any other democracy has suffered from the rise of a far-right party, eighty years on from World War Two has seen the AfD party rise amongst the electorate. This is the party backed by Elon Musk, who chillingly gave a Nazi-type salute at Trump’s inauguration.
Herbert Kickl in Austria won the most seats in their election last month and has been asked to form a government – the first right one since WWII. His party, the FPO, have labelled him the ‘Volkskanzler’ which translates as ‘people’s Chancellor’. Seems an innocuous term, until you understand the last time that name was appropriated by a party and leader was under the Nazis and Adolf Hitler.
Putin sympathiser Viktor Orban of Hungary has served fourteen years in power, elected freely and democratically. He has been a problem for Brussels with his interference in the independence of the Hungarian judiciary, ‘illiberal democracy’ and ‘Christian liberalism’, euphemisms for ultra nationalism and religious intolerance. These things are not to be taken for granted, The Balkans went up in smoke when those aforementioned forces lit the tinder box of nationalism and religion. They would become defining traits of the massacres between Croats, Serbs, and Bosnians in the 1990s’ Balkan wars.
In total, seven countries have hard-right parties in Government: Italy, Finland, Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Austria. Gert Wilder’s ‘Freedom Party’ in Holland has gained massive appeal on an anti-immigration ticket, but is not yet the main power. But this is democracy. People have spoken. Why should democracy only be allowed for the centrist or soft left and right? Simply put, history has taught us that hard-right parties merely use democracy as a vehicle to climb their way to power before unleashing an autocratic style of government that has, at its heart, only the interests of a fanatical following and not of all their citizens. Or maybe these parties are rising because people within these countries feel their past governments have failed to make them feel safe and to guarantee them good work with decent wages and a future. Who knows? But there is a menacing shadow falling over Europe with a retreat into hard nationalism away from multiculturalism. We have better weather models now that can predict big storms like Eowyn. We have AI models that will predict and advance medicine and science. But for me, to understand European politics and culture, I look to the past. I look to history. Because one thing that never changes is human nature. And sometimes that nature can take a terrible twist.
