Europe's nativists can make the world more dangerous

[pampango]

Whatever happened to the good Europeans, those nice folks in those small northern countries who liked to think of themselves as the world champions of liberty and tolerance? Of course, many liberal Europeans are still alive and well. But first in Denmark, then in the Netherlands, and now in Sweden, illiberal, populist parties stirring up fear of immigrants - specifically Muslims - have managed to gain enough power to set, or at least influence, their countries' political agendas.

These parties are not confined to Scandinavia and the Low Countries, but are part of a global wave of anger against elites, who are blamed for all of the insecurities that come with global economics, the financial crisis, and living in more ethnically mixed societies. The psychology behind the Tea Party in the United States and the anti-immigrant parties in Europe is similar, even if their policies vary.

The influence of these slick new populists, waging their war on Islam, goes well beyond their countries' borders. Nativism is on the rise all over the western world, and Mr Wilders, in particular, is a popular speaker at right-wing anti-Muslim gatherings in the US, Britain, and Germany. European populism focuses on Islam and immigration, but it may be mobilising a wider rage against elites expressed by people who feel underrepresented, or fear being left behind economically. They share a feeling of being dispossessed by foreigners, of losing their sense of national, social, or religious belonging.

Northern Europe's political elites, largely Social or Christian Democrats, have often been dismissive of such fears, and their paternalism and condescension may be why the backlash in those liberal countries has been particularly fierce. The question is what to do about it. One possible solution is to let populist parties join the government if they get a sufficient number of votes. The idea of a Tea Party candidate becoming US president is alarming, to be sure, but European populists could only be part of coalition governments.

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