Ultra-right views are growing in Europe, the British analytical center Demos says. The new generation expresses its harsh nationalistic and anti-migrant attitude on the Internet, Peter Walker and Matthew Taylor say. The report was made prior to a conference in Brussels.
Demos specialists studied over 10,000 supporters of 14 parties and street organizations in 11 states.
Nationalism is widespread in Europe, especially amongst men. They are concerned about migration and Islamic influence. Materials on the problem were collected in July-August.
The process is comparable with the anti-Semitism that united ultra-right parties between the two world wars. Islamophobia is uniting them in the 21st century. Nationalistic parties similar to the English Defence League are becoming common.
According to Facebook accounts, 14 parties have at least 450,000 supporters. Two thirds of them are below the age of 30, one third are men with an average level of unemployment among them.
Some say Islam is against liberal democracy. This is the main point for populistic nationalists, expert Matthew Goodwin says. Modern voters are opposed to open racism, he clarifies. The organizations say discontent with migration is not racism when you protect your own traditions.
Analysts say the eurozone crisis will create a flow of supporters to populist parties against the EU. Such parties have doubled their presence in the parliament in the last 10 years. Hundreds of thousands of Europeans are disappointed with traditional parties and political institutions and expect populist parties to solve the problems, Jamey Bartlett says
