Politics
The BNP’s success in the May elections is clearly a matter of concern for the main parties. Condemnation rains down from all sides. To be fair some of this may be genuine, motivated by fear of what this nasty little clan might actually get up to. But then again it’s hard not to hear naked party/self-interest lurking behind the outrage. Just as powerful a motivation for the condemnation is the simple desire to snatch those votes back.
More darkly and quietly then we can also expect some effort to adopt the ‘appeal’ of the BNP (if that can ever be the proper term!) Politicians crave votes and they are usually not too choosy about how they acquire them. Clearly the BNP are saying things which chime with a section of the British public, one large enough to secure a hundred local government seats. Shrewd councillors, MPs and PR staffers will now be working overtime to ascertain the BNP’s electoral appeal, and working out ways to soften it and slip it into their own language and manifestos.
It won’t be the first time. While Margaret Thatcher certainly was a racist race was never really an issue in her vision of a new order. Thatcherism was about breaking unions, cutting welfare, dismantling the NHS and getting industry back into private hands. But when a swell of traditional Labour and Tory voters drifted towards the National Front she and her advisors saw the perfect opportunity to feign concern about immigration, and steal those votes back. She could raise the vague “fear of being swamped by people of a different culture” to gain power, and then get on with the unrelated business of monetarism.
The politics of gaining power needs bear little relation to political agenda. Government is about economics. Gaining office is about foetal rights, marital fidelity, prohibitions on flag burning, and of course the delicate application of racism.
In 2008 many in New Labour and the Conservatives are not even racist in their personal lives – some are even members of the dreaded ethnic groups. But if they hope to win power and get the chance to implement their radical and distinct political reforms (breaking unions, cutting welfare, dismantling the NHS and keeping industry in private hands) then the temptations of populism will beckon. Condemnation of Mr Griffin’s shabby little gang will continue for sure, but we can also expect mealy-mouthed appeals to its logic, vague talk of flags, Britishness, armed forces days, and when they dare, the fear of being swamped by foreign cultures. The price of such talk will be high for many citizens, but worth paying if the righteous are to gain office.
Second thought in progress...
