AT the start of the year, we watched the downfall of ultra-right-wing maverick Steve Bannon, as he was unceremoniously dumped from his love-in with President Trump.
I have to admit, his exit from the White House was entertaining; the ridiculousness of their relationship exposed, its fragility broken by massive egos out of control, two ancient bulls locking horns in the corridors of power. It was followed by his sacking from Breitbart News and the wealthy Mercer family cutting ties with Bannon, leaving him bereft, without his pocket money to fund further unrest and discord.
However, unfortunately, as history has shown us over and over again, it’s bad pennies like Bannon that keep popping up just when you think they’ve been put in their place. Not unlike Nigel Farage, who happily recreates himself on a regular basis to ensure his anti-immigration agenda keeps simmering on the surface, Bannon has regenerated into a new Doctor Hate, and this time he’s landed in Europe.
He’s made no secret in the past of his dislike for the EU, his obsession with European politics and his desire to spread his brand of angry, xenophobic politics across the Atlantic. It would seem that there are plenty of takers in Europe, ready to hear him and embrace these views, if reaction to his whistle-stop tour of far-right political parties in France, Italy and Germany is anything to go by.
Speaking at the French National Front’s annual conference in Lille last weekend, alongside Marine Le Pen, he implored the audience to wear their racism allegations like a badge of honour, claiming history was smiling on the populist movement and growing support worldwide.
This statement is so shocking it’s almost hard to comprehend. Imagine admitting to being a racist and declaring it a label to be proud of – to wear without fear of impunity? In comparison with this “in your face” racism from Bannon, the remnants of Ukip look like the country bumpkins, too scared to pronounce their true values to cosmopolitan audiences such as London.
He makes Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech from the past seem mild and unremarkable. Britain First’s leaders must be cheering from their prison cells.
Because, be under no allusions, Steve Bannon is a bold and dangerous threat to peace. This thug in chinos is a master of the sleight of hand, fooling his followers into believing he is one of them by distracting them with inflammatory rhetoric and racist razzmatazz while enjoying the spoils of capitalism so far out of reach for the “common people”.
For a man with an estimated worth of as much as $48 million and an address book of the great, the bad and the ugly in American politics, it’s hard to see him as a genuine figurehead for ordinary working folk, rising up against the establishment.
After all, it’s members of the global elite who put Mr Bannon where he is in the first place. In his previous incarnations, he was up to his neck in global capitalism as an investment banker and media executive. He’s not dirtied his hands doing manual labour or queuing at the dole after redundancy. But just like Brexit, what’s as plain as the nose on your face matters little when people’s baser instincts are allowed to break free. The problem with rational and intellectual arguments is they don’t work when people’s blood boils with resentment and are desperately seeking a hook to hang their hate on.
Supporters of the far-right love the lack of political correctness in their leaders, enjoy being part of a world-wide rejection of “doing the right thing”, and applaud inflammatory statements from the likes of Bannon when he talks about “weaponising” populist social and economic ideas. He wants to declare war on tolerance and understanding, on progressive and inclusive ways of living, and he doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process. Certain people are listening and agreeing in plain sight – but under the cover of darkness, malign elements of populism are infecting the body politic of Britain, spreading into all corners of society.
One only has to observe happenings in Glasgow last weekend, when grown men in balaclavas marched to a football game singing sectarian songs, with some giving the Nazi salute. Then there was the fear spread in London from anonymous letters sent advising how to “Punish a Muslim”, with points scored for abuse and injury to innocent people. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg as racist attacks continue to rise in Britain.
In this climate it is vital that politicians of basic good will do not – perhaps inadvertently – fan the flames of bigotry. Just look at Jeremy Corbyn’s ignorant blaming of migrant workers for unemployment in the UK in his Scottish Labour conference speech, when every piece of worthwhile research and study on this subject shows the exact opposite.
There’s one more important note for Mr Bannon and it involves a short history lesson. The Second World War brought fascism to its knees in Europe. Thirty years later, the formation of the European Union united people torn apart in previous generations by suffering and conflict. Despite a reckless vote for Brexit, this union could be restored again by the importance of maintaining peace in Ireland. In this context, Bannon looks like a mere bigoted blip. Let’s hope history wipes the smile off populism and the rise of the alt-right once again.
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