“Hostile” and “authoritarian” United Kingdom

United Kingdom has been downgraded in an annual global index of civic freedoms because of the government’s “increasingly authoritarian” drive to impose restrictive and punitive laws on public protests. According to Civicus Monitor, British government has created a “hostile environment” towards campaigners, charities and other civil society bodies. Stephanie Draper, chief executive of the Bond charity, said, “The UK is becoming increasingly authoritarian and is among concerning company in the Civicus Monitor ratings as restrictive laws and dangerous rhetoric are creating a hostile environment towards civil society in the UK.”

Read the full story on The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/16/hostile-authoritarian-uk-downgraded-in-civic-freedoms-index

Political humor in Brexit Britain

Brexit, COVID-19 pandemic, cost of living crisis as well as political decisions and antics of the hardline Conservative governments have created a “perfect storm”, and the frustration of British people have been seen in various polls. According to YouGov poll in November last year, only 32% of the public said that it was right to vote to leave the EU and 56% said that it was wrong to leave (1). According to latest YouGov poll regarding voting intention, 47% of voters would vote Labour and only 25% of voters would vote the ruling Conservatives (2). According to research published in November last year, trust in politicians is “in free fall”. 66% of British voters believe that “politicians are only out for themselves” and only 4% of the public believe that politicians are “doing their best for the country”. (3)

The chaotic years have inspired some hilarious and surreal political humor, such as art created by Cold War Steve (4, 5) and Duke Smoochem, a dystopian game created by Dan Douglas (6). Last year a 60 pence lettuce rose to world fame after it lasted longer than Prime Minister Liz Truss who became the shortest-serving PM in British history. (7, 8)

References:

1) “One in five who voted for Brexit now think it was the wrong decision” YouGov 17.11.2022

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/11/17/one-five-who-voted-brexit-now-think-it-was-wrong-d

2) YouGov UK voting intention 8.3.2023

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2023/03/08/voting-intention-con-25-labour-47

3) “Revealed: trust in politicians ‘in free fall’ after ‘year of chaos’, poll reveals” IPPR 3.11.2022

https://www.ippr.org/news-and-media/press-releases/revealed-trust-in-politicians-in-free-fall-after-year-of-chaos-poll-reveals

4) “The art of Cold War Steve” The Guardian 15.6.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2019/jun/15/the-art-of-cold-war-steve

5) “Cold War Steve: satire is my antidote to a scary world” The Guardian 15.6.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jun/15/cold-war-steve-satire-is-my-antidote-to-a-scary-world-interview

6) “‘Keir Starmer just ordered an alpaca airstrike!’ The game that holds up a dystopian mirror to the UK” The Guardian 8.3.2023

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/mar/08/game-dystopian-mirror-uk-dan-douglas-duke-smoochem

7) “Daily Star lettuce celebrates victory as Prime Minister Liz Truss resigns” Daily Star 20.10.2022

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/breaking-daily-star-lettuce-celebrates-28282527

8) “Lettuce rejoice: inside story of Daily Star iceberg’s triumph over Liz Truss” The Guardian 21.10.2022

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/oct/21/inside-story-daily-star-lettuce-triumph-liz-truss

After Auschwitz

Curiously enough, many important and dramatic events this week have something to do with the American-Israeli alliance.

Jerusalem hosted its largest-ever political gathering during the World Holocaust Forum before the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday (1, 2, 3). It is important to remember what kind of horrors the all-engulfing hatred led to during the 1930s and later on. I haven’t visited Auschwitz, but I visited former Dachau concentration camp near Munich in November 2008 and that somber memory will stay with me the rest of my life.

We see again the rise of right-wing populism and extremism. Antisemitism has increased in many countries. However, just like during the 1930s, also many other ethnic, religious and other groups are targeted.

The OSCE ODIHR hate crimes data gives some idea of the nature and amount of hate crimes in various countries. Here are just some examples of the hate crimes statistics from year 2018 (4):

On the left hand side of the table you can see in brackets the total amount of hate crimes recorded by police in each country.

The hate crimes statistics don’t necessarily give the whole picture of the situation. For example, a large survey conducted by Citizens UK, a British umbrella organisation of faith and community groups, suggested that the huge amount of hate crimes in 2018 was just a tip of the iceberg (5). Famous political scientist Cas Mudde pointed out in 2018 that even though victims have reported hate crimes in USA, many law enforcement agencies haven’t necessarily classified them as hate crimes. Almost one in five law enforcement agencies didn’t submit any hate crime reports during years 2009-2014. The National Crime Victimization survey suggested that there may have been as many as 250 000 annual hate crimes in USA during years 2004-2015. (6, 7)

References:

1) “Jerusalem hosts largest-ever political gathering for Holocaust forum” The Guardian 22.1.2020

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/22/jerusalem-hosts-largest-ever-political-gathering-for-holocaust-forum

2) “World leaders gather for Holocaust commemoration, 75 years after the liberation of Auschwitz” NBC News 23.1.2020

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/world-leaders-gather-holocaust-commemoration-75-years-after-auschwitz-n1121051

3) UNESCO – International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020

https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/holocaustremembranceday

4) OSCE ODIHR Hate Crime Data 2018

https://hatecrime.osce.org

5) “Hate crimes double in five years in England and Wales” The Guardian 15.10.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/15/hate-crimes-double-england-wales

6) “Hate crimes are as American as apple pie” The Guardian 27.12.2018

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/27/hate-crimes-america-cas-mudde

7) “Hate Crime Victimization, 2004-2015” Bureau of Justice Statistics June 2017

https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/hcv0415_sum.pdf

How right-wing populists and extremists use Christianity

Mark Galli, editor-in-chief of American religious magazine Christianity Today, wrote last week that President Trump is “morally lost” and should be removed from the office (1). Trump lashed out at the magazine in his tweets (2):

“A far left magazine, or very ‘progressive,’ as some would call it, which has been doing poorly and hasn’t been involved with the Billy Graham family for many years, Christianity Today, knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a routine phone call and would rather have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President.”

During recent years right-wing populists and extremists have used Christianity to promote their own ideology and to justify their actions. For example, Hungarian far-right leader Viktor Orbán has used Christianity to strengthen his authoritarian control. Some years ago, Orbán wanted to build “an illiberal, a non-liberal state”, but recently he has called his country “a Christian democracy” (3, 4). Dutch far-right politician and infamous Islamophobe Geert Wilders has wanted to enshrine “the dominance of the Judeo-Christian tradition” in the Dutch constitution (5). Far-right groups and parties in many countries have organized anti-immigration and anti-Muslim demonstrations and political stunts on the pretext of defending Christianity or Judeo-Christian values. For example, German far-right anti-immigration and anti-Muslim movement PEGIDA has had religion-themed demonstrations in front of Frauenkirche in Dresden, British far-right group Britain First has organized “Christian Patrols”, French far-right party National Rally (former National Front) has organized commemoration march for their Catholic saint Joan of Arc, Italian far-right party Northern League had a political rally where their leader Matteo Salvini swore to “put the gospel into action” and Spanish far-right party Vox vowed to start a new “reconquista” (reference to the era when Christians defeated the Moors and “reconquered” Southern Spain). (6, 7, 8) In USA, among the myriad of right-wing populist and extremist groups there are also extreme anti-abortion, anti-government and even anti-taxation militias who find excuse for their violent actions from the Bible (9).

Steve Bannon, former chief strategist of President Trump, tried to get European far-right leaders to join his organization The Movement, but that operation hasn’t been as successful as he expected. However, Bannon also has another elaborate plan: he wants to educate next generation of far-right leaders, or “culture warriors”, at an “academy for the Judeo-Christian West” in Italy. The academy would be run by a right-wing Catholic think thank Dignitatis Humanae Institute which was founded by Bannon’s close associate Benjamin Harnwell. The academy would become a “school for gladiators” and it would offer instruction in theology, philosophy, history and politics but it also would “institutionalize the thoughts and political insights of Steve Bannon.” However, the project has run into difficulties with Italian government. (11, 12, 14) American Cardinal Raymond Burke, who was named honorary president of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, resigned. In his resignation letter Cardinal Burke wrote (13):

“In recent times it (i.e. the institute) has become more and more identified with the political program of Mr Bannon. While I have urged the institute to return to its original purpose of promoting the respect of human dignity it has not done so… I have therefore, effective immediately, terminated any relationship with the Dignitatis Humanae Institute.”

Bannon has also tried to build opposition against Pope Francis. Bannon advised Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini to attack the pope over the issue of migration and refugees. Pope Francis has made the plight of refugees important part of his papacy and he has asked for compassion towards migrants. Bannon sees Pope Francis as “enemy.” (14)

Also other people close to Trump have used Christianity in their endeavors. When Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave his speech in Cairo, Egypt, in January, he said (15):

“In my office, I keep a Bible open on my desk to remind me of God and His Word, and The Truth.

And it’s the truth, lower-case “t,” that I’m here to talk about today. It is a truth that isn’t often spoken in this part of the world, but because I’m a military man by training, I’ll be very blunt and direct today: America is a force for good in the Middle East.”

Pompeo also believes that it is possible that President Trump could be a new “Queen Esther” who will save Jews from “the Iranian menace.” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu thinks that evangelical Christians, such as Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Pompeo, are actually more reliable allies of Israel than liberal American Jews. (16) Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow and his family run many non-profit organizations, for example Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism (CASE). It has turned out that the Sekulow family has used tens of millions of dollars of the money that was donated to their organizations for their own vast salaries as well as unusual loans and property deals. (17, 18) Sekulow is the leader of Trump’s personal legal team and his son Jordan is also member of the team (19, 20).

Even though right-wing populists and extremists use Christianity in their political activities and propaganda, polls suggest that their supporters are actually disproportionately irreligious. Church attendance seems to be one of the strongest statistical predictors for voting against the populist far right. (6) Many Christian religious leaders have condemned the use of Christianity in the far-right propaganda and hate mongering (6, 7). There is also a lot of interfaith dialogue and cooperation organized by United Nations and many other international and national organizations, for example Parliament of the World’s Religions, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) and National Forum for Cooperation of Religions in Finland (CORE Forum). (21, 22, 23, 24)

References:

1) “Calling Trump ‘Morally Lost’, ‘Christianity Today’ Editor Calls For His Removal” NPR 20.12.2019

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/20/790130632/christianity-today-editor-discusses-calling-for-trumps-impeachment

2) “Trump attacks Christianity Today over bruising editorial” The Hill 20.12.2019

https://thehill.com/homenews/news/475445-trump-attacks-christianity-today-over-bruising-editorial

3) “Full text of Viktor Orbán’s speech at Băile Tuşnad (Tusnádfürdő) of 26 July 2014” The Budapest Beacon 29.7.2014

https://budapestbeacon.com/full-text-of-viktor-orbans-speech-at-baile-tusnad-tusnadfurdo-of-26-july-2014/

4) “Orbán deploys Christianity with a twist to tighten grip in Hungary” The Guardian 14.7.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/14/viktor-orban-budapest-hungary-christianity-with-a-twist

5) “Can Geert Wilders be more than the Netherlands’ agitator-in-chief?” The Guardian 8.3.2017

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/can-geert-wilders-be-more-than-netherlands-far-right-agitator-in-chief

6) “Defenders of faith: why right-wing populists are embracing religion” New Statesman 30.5.2018

https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/05/defenders-faith-0

7) “Britain First’s Bury Park ‘Christian Patrol’ In Luton Condemned As ‘Intimidating’ And ‘Inflaming Tensions'” Huffington Post 26.1.2016

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016/01/25/britain-first-luton-march-condemned_n_9067474.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmZpLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACaShTChTCMlkKHnZiAKzhGrd8Fe4J5w-Bityv62sHev310E29_OQSu4g97GYsaXZ28eRIvPcEgX1myuTIYbveyxDkIvy9NAyx49wAhwKGLNct3-UcrqS3ygBB8p1eu4PtEUTbQWmV2Wf9Olh2p4igWIEwooO7ZI8O3Z28v7q9bh&guccounter=2

8) “The rise of Spanish far-right party Vox shines light into the dark corners of the country’s politics” The National 5.1.2019

https://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/the-rise-of-the-spanish-far-right-party-vox-shines-a-light-into-the-dark-corners-of-the-country-s-politics-1.809539

9) “Holy Hate: The Far Right’s Radicalization of Religion” Southern Poverty Law Center 10.2.2018

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2018/holy-hate-far-right’s-radicalization-religion

10) “Steve Bannon’s stuttering European adventure” Politico 19.4.2019

https://www.politico.eu/article/steve-bannon-european-parliament-the-movement-stuttering-european-adventure/

11) “Italy disrupts Steve Bannon’s plan for a right-wing academy in a monastery” The Washington Post 31.5.2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/italy-disrupts-steve-bannons-plan-for-a-right-wing-academy-in-an-italian-monastery/2019/05/31/0f804838-83d1-11e9-b585-e36b16a531aa_story.html

12) “Culture ministry failed to vet right-wing religious group close to Steve Bannon” The Art Newspaper 27.11.2019

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/culture-ministry-failed-to-vet-right-wing-group

13) “Cardinal Burke resigns from Dignitatis Humanae Institute” Independent Catholic News 27.6.2019

https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/37362

14) “Steve Bannon ‘told Italy’s populist leader: Pope Francis is the enemy'” The Guardian 13.4.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/13/steve-bannon-matteo-salvini-pope-francis-is-the-enemy

15) “A Force for Good: America Reinvigorated in the Middle East” U.S. Virtual Embassy Iran 10.1.2019

https://ir.usembassy.gov/a-force-for-good-america-reinvigorated-in-the-middle-east/

16) “The Rapture and the Real World: Mike Pompeo Blends Beliefs and Policy” The New York Times 30.3.2019

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/30/us/politics/pompeo-christian-policy.html?auth=login-email&login=email

17) “Trump lawyer’s firm steered millions in donations to family members, files show” The Guardian 27.6.2017

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/27/trump-lawyer-jay-sekulow-donations

18) “Who Is Jay Sekulow? Trump Attorney Funnels Millions to His Family Through Nonprofits” Right Wing Watch 7.3.2019

https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/who-is-jay-sekulow-trump-attorney-funnels-millions-to-his-family-through-non-profits/

19) “Trump’s personal attorneys remain largely on the sidelines as the president contends with the impeachment inquiry” The Washington Post 3.12.2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-personal-attorneys-remain-largely-on-the-sidelines-as-the-president-contends-with-impeachment-inquiry/2019/12/03/1076807c-150d-11ea-8406-df3c54b3253e_story.html

20) “Jordan Sekulow: President’s legal team working on two theories to bolster defense against impeachment” Fox News 21.12.2019

https://www.foxnews.com/media/jordan-sekulow-impeachment-legal-defense-president-trump-nancy-pelosi

21) World Interfaith Harmony Week United Nations

https://www.un.org/en/events/interfaithharmonyweek/index.shtml

22) Parliament of the World’s Religions

https://parliamentofreligions.org

23) KAICIID

https://www.kaiciid.org

24) CORE Forum

https://uskot.fi/en/home-2/

The hardline American-Israeli alliance

The situation in USA and Israel, and now also in Britain, is quite extraordinary. USA and Britain have been seen as strong, some might say leading democracies, but the recent developments are worrying. As the right-wing parties in all these three countries have been veering more and more to the right, there are signs that the traditional parliamentary democracy and the rule of law are not respected, anymore. Trump has campaigned right from the beginning against the traditional American political system and “elite.” Nigel Farage, friend of Trump, regular guest on Fox News and leader of the far-right Brexit party, has repeatedly talked about the need for a “revolution.” (1, 2, 3) In the election manifesto of the British Conservative Party there is a mention:

“After Brexit we also need to look at the broader aspects of our constitution: the relationship between the Government, Parliament and the courts; the functioning of the Royal Prerogative; the role of the House of Lords; and access to justice for ordinary people.” (4, page 48)

Many political decisions seem to favor industrialists and other super-rich, for example tax cuts introduced by President Trump, his climate change denial and changes to environmental legislation (5, 6, 7, 8). In Britain, the Conservative party is now dependent on ultra-rich pro-Brexit donors (9). Xenophobia, racism and all kinds of hate crimes have increased significantly (10, 11). Where is this all leading to? Is there a possibility that we will see emergence of a new political regime, or “empire”, that is some sort of combination of laissez-faire capitalism and fascism ? A far-right plutocracy?

The first casualty has probably been the truth. The right-wing populist leaders in these countries – and elsewhere – are a new breed, not only do they make false claims and promises but they also do it without shame. Alastair Campbell, who worked as director of communications for Tony Blair, said that President Trump, Prime Minister Johnson and others like them have shown that we have moved from post-truth to post-shame (12). Also, the current political leaders of all these three countries – President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Prime Minister Johnson – are facing possible trial because of their dubious activities (13, 14, 15).

Here are more of my novice observations of the situation in each of the three countries. First, USA. One of the key slogans Donald Trump used during his first presidential campaign was, “Drain the swamp!” Trump promised to clean Washington from old political elite and make the American government “honest once again” (1). However, President Trump has surrounded himself with far-right figures and politicians with connections to anti-Muslim and other hate groups (16, 17, 18, 19). He has also hired super-rich and corporate lobbyists, he even has rewarded some of his billionaire supporters by giving them role as ambassadors – in Gordon Sondland’s case, that didn’t turn out to be such a wise decision, as we have seen during the impeachment hearings. Trump claimed that the impeachment inquiry is “an attempted coup” (20, 21, 22, 23, 24). Another Trump’s slogan has been, “America first” (25). During Trump’s presidency, USA has decided to leave international organizations and agreements, for example UNESCO, Palestinian aid organization UNRWA and the Paris climate agreement (26, 27, 28). Furthermore, Trump has now attacked World Trade Organization WTO and forced it’s top court to shut down (29, 30, 31). Trump also criticized World Bank for loaning money to China (32). During his interview last summer, Trump said that the EU is a competitor and therefore “a foe” just like Russia and China (33). Trump is arguably the most pro-Israel president USA has ever had. During Israeli American Council national summit last week, Trump declared that he is Israel’s best friend in the White House (34). Trump has made several political decisions that were favorable to Israel, including the decision to leave UNICEF and UNRWA. Trump has also recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and he transferred US Embassy there. Trump also said that the occupied Golan Heights belong to Israel (35, 36). Prime Minister Netanyahu revealed that he talked about American-Israeli mutual defense pact and annexation of Jordan Valley with Secretary of State Pompeo during their recent meeting in Lisbon, Portugal – curiously enough, USA denied this (37).

Benjamin Netanyahu has become the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Israel. He has cooperated with right-wing populists and far right in Israel and elsewhere – in Europe, Brazil and with Trump. (38, 39, 40) Former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Netanyahu used “Machiavellian” tactics in order to “play” Trump (41). Netanyahu’s political campaigns have also caused controversy. Facebook suspended Netanyahu’s campaign page briefly in September because of an inflammatory message regarding Arabs (42). Netanyahu has vowed to annex the Jordan Valley and rest of the West Bank, if he will be able to continue as prime minister. However, the recent elections in Israel have been a very tight race and Netanyahu hasn’t been able to form a government (37). After Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced criminal charges against him, last month, Netanyahu accused the judiciary, the police and others of attempted “coup.” During protests, Netanyahu’s supporters called him “the king of Israel.” (43, 44)

In a way, the dramatic and worrying developments in the American-Israeli alliance can be seen particularly well in Britain, where Boris Johnson’s carefully choreographed rise to power, his controversial decision to prorogue the parliament and his aggressive populistic rhetoric have started a new era in British politics. (45, 46, 47) Some of the key traits of Boris Johnson are his casual, populistic hatemongering and his complete untrustworthiness. Johnson has become infamous for his offensive and inflammatory comments about women, EU, EU citizens, ethnic minorities, Muslims and many others (48, 49, 50, 51). However, he has said in interviews that he is strongly pro-Israel and “passionate Zionist” (52). Lord Cooper, who worked for former PM David Cameron, described Johnson like this (53):

“The rottenness of Boris Johnson goes deeper even than his casual racism and his equally casual courting of fascism. He will advocate literally anything to play to the crowd of the moment. His career is a saga of moral emptiness and lies; pathetic, weak and needy; the opposite of strong.”

Peter Oborne and a group of other journalists have started a facts check website regarding Johnson’s lies. Oborne wrote yesterday that Johnson’s Conservatives are “a revolutionary sect” (54, 55). Alexandra Hall Hall, lead envoy for Brexit in the British Embassy in USA, resigned last week. In her letter of resignation she wrote (56):

“I have been increasingly dismayed by the way in which our political leaders have tried to deliver Brexit, with reluctance to address honestly, even with our own citizens, the challenges and trade-offs which Brexit involves; the use of misleading or disingenuous arguments about the implications of the various options before us; and some behaviour towards our institutions, which, were it happening in another country, we would almost certainly as diplomats have received instructions to register our concern”.

“It makes our job to promote democracy and the rule of law that much harder, if we are not seen to be upholding these core values at home.”

“I am also at a stage in life where I would prefer to do something more rewarding with my time, than peddle half-truths on behalf of a government I do not trust.”

Also Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland and key ally of the Conservative Party, said on Monday that Johnson had betrayed their trust (57).

President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Prime Minister Johnson will have to fight for their political survival in the coming days. Johnson will be the first one to face the test during the general election today. Just like during the Conservative leadership race in the summer, Johnson has tried to avoid too much scrunity by refusing to take part to some televised debates and interviews (58, 59). Johnson, Trump and Netanyahu also seem to have wanted to avoid each other. Johnson and Trump were not planning to have a formal meeting during recent NATO summit in London. However, they met at 10 Downing Street (60, 61). Prime Minister Netanyahu was planning to travel to the NATO summit, but that trip was cancelled due to “logistical problems.” Netanyahu met Secretary of State Pompeo in Lisbon, instead. (62, 63) When Trump spoke to the Israeli American Council, last weekend, he didn’t mention Netanyahu (64).

References:

1) “Here’s what Trump means when he says ‘drain the swamp’ – even though it’s not an accurate metaphor” Business Insider 12.11.2016

https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-drain-the-swamp-mean-was-dc-built-on-a-swamp-2016-11

2) “Farage hired by Fox News as a political analyst” BBC 20.1.2017

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-38695203

3) “General election Brexit Party policies: Farage launched ‘political revolution for ordinary people'” Sky News 22.11.2019

https://news.sky.com/story/general-election-brexit-party-policies-farage-launches-political-revolution-for-ordinary-people-11867115

4) “Get Brexit Done – Unleash Britain’s Potential” Conservative party election manifesto 2019

https://assets-global.website-files.com/5da42e2cae7ebd3f8bde353c/5dda924905da587992a064ba_Conservative%202019%20Manifesto.pdf

5) “Here’s who is saving the most money from Trump’s tax cuts” CNBC 23.9.2019

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/23/who-is-saving-the-most-money-from-trumps-tax-cuts.html

6) “Trump’s tax cuts helped billionaires pay less than the working class for first time” The Guardian 9.10.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/oct/09/trump-tax-cuts-helped-billionaires-pay-less

7) “As Trump Administration Downplays Warming, Agencies Chronicle Climate Impacts” Scientific American 9.10.2019

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-trump-administration-downplays-warming-agencies-chronicle-climate-impacts/

8) “85 Environmental Rules Being Rolled Back Under Trump” The New York Times 12.9.2019

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks.html

9) “The Tory party is so dependent on big money it now represents only a tiny elite” The Guardian 9.12.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/09/money-matters-elections-tories-ultra-rich-brexit-donors

10) “Hate crime violence in US hit 16-year high in 2018: FBI” Al Jazeera 14.11.2019

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/hate-crime-violence-hit-16-year-high-2018-fbi-191113172541294.html

11) “Hate crimes double in five years in England and Wales” The Guardian 15.10.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/15/hate-crimes-double-england-wales

12) “From Trump to Boris Johnson, we’re moving from post-truth to post-shame” The Guardian 15.7.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/15/populism-boris-johnson-brexit-trump

13) “Trump impeachment: Democrats unveil formal charges” BBC 10.12.2019

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50731010

14) “Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu will be indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust” CNN 22.11.2019

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/21/middleeast/benjamin-netanyahu-charges-israel-intl/index.html

15) “Anger as police decision on Boris Johnson’s Jennifer Arcuri scandal is ‘shelved’ until after election” i news 10.11.2019

https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/police-probe-jennifer-arcuri-scandal-shelved-after-election-920617

16) “Anti-Muslim” (hate groups) Southern Poverty Law Center

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/anti-muslim

17) “The Alt-Right’s Love Affair With Trump Is Over. Here’s Why.” Vice 9.7.2019

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gy4ee7/the-alt-rights-love-affair-with-trump-is-over-heres-why

18) “Here are the extremist figures going to the White House social media summit” Media Matters 9.7.2019

https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/here-are-extremist-figures-going-white-house-social-media-summit

19) “Stephen Miller: why is Trump’s white nationalist aide untouchable?” The Guardian 4.12.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/04/stephen-miller-trump-administration-white-nationalism

20) “Trump and His Cabinet Net Worth” The Balance 13.3.2019

https://www.thebalance.com/the-net-worth-of-trump-and-his-cabinet-4570997

21) “Trump says he’s draining the swamp as he fills Cabinet with ex-lobbyists” CBS News 20.7.2019

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-says-hes-draining-the-swamp-as-he-fills-cabinet-with-ex-lobbyists/

22) “Trump’s Ambassadors Are Uniquely Unqualified. The Ukraine Scandal Proves It” Mother Jones 14.11.2019

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/11/trumps-ambassadors-are-uniquely-unqualified-the-ukraine-scandal-proves-it/

23) “Republicans Turn Up Heat on Gordon Sondland in Impeachment Hearing” Time 10.12.2019

https://time.com/5746844/republicans-turn-up-heat-on-gordon-sondland-in-impeachment-hearing/

24) “Donald Trump has claimed multiple times that he’s the victim of an attempted coup” Newsweek 2.10.2019

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-tweets-coup-impeachment-civil-war-fox-news-1462555

25) “Trump hammers home ‘America First’ ideology at UN” Politico 24.9.2019

https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-hammers-home-america-first-ideology-at-un-gathering/

26) “US and Israel formally quit UNESCO” Al Jazeera 1.1.2019

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/israel-formally-quit-unesco-190101094104787.html

27) “In one move, Trump eliminated US funding for UNRWA and the US role as Mideast peacemaker” Brookings 7.9.2018

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/09/07/in-one-move-trump-eliminated-us-funding-for-unrwa-and-the-us-role-as-mideast-peacemaker/

28) “Is the United States Really Leaving the Paris Climate Agreement?” Foreign Policy 5.11.2019

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/11/05/paris-climate-agreement-united-states-withdraw/

29) “Trump vs. the WTO” Axios 10.12.2019

https://www.axios.com/trump-vs-wto-blocked-appointments-d6eb10e6-f0a9-4c46-b801-71d9836c4c5a.html

30) “WTO chief: ‘Months’ needed to fix disputes body” BBC 10.12.2019

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50736344

31) “UK’s post-Brexit trade at risk as WTO’s top court shuts down” The Guardian 11.12.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/11/uk-post-brexit-trade-at-risk-as-wto-top-court-shuts-down

32) “Trump calls for World Bank to stop loaning to China” Reuters 7.12.2019

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-worldbank/trump-calls-for-world-bank-to-stop-loaning-to-china-idUSKBN1YB010

33) “Trump: EU is one of United States’ biggest foes” Politico 19.4.2019

https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-putin-russia-europe-one-of-united-states-biggest-foes/

34) “Trump dubs himself Israel’s ‘best pal’ in White House” Daily Sabah 8.12.2019

https://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2019/12/08/trump-dubs-himself-israels-best-pal-in-white-house

35) “The controversial US Jerusalem embassy opening, explained” Vox 16.5.2018

https://www.vox.com/2018/5/14/17340798/jerusalem-embassy-israel-palestinians-us-trump

36) “Golan Heights: Trump signs order recognizing occupied area as Israeli” BBC 25.3.2019

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47697717

37) “Netanyahu rebuffs US State Department denial he discussed annexation with Pompeo” The Times of Israel 8.12.2019

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-rebuffs-us-state-department-denial-he-discussed-annexation-with-pompeo/

38) “Benjamin Netanyahu becomes Israel’s longest-serving leader” BBC 20.7.2019

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49043102

39) “At home and abroad, Netanyahu faces backlash for far-right alliance” Reuters 24.2.2019

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-election-usa/at-home-and-abroad-netanyahu-faces-backlash-for-far-right-alliance-idUSKCN1QD0M4

40) “Benjamin Netanyahu, best friend of the far right” Le Monde Diplomatique 13.9.2019

https://mondediplo.com/2019/09/13netanyahu

41) “Tillerson says Netanyahu skillfully ‘played’ Trump using misinformation” The Times of Israel 19.9.2019

https://www.timesofisrael.com/tillerson-says-netanyahu-skillfully-played-trump-using-misinformation/

42) “Netanyahu’s Facebook page suspended over hate speech” Independent 12.9.2019

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/benjamin-netanyahu-facebook-page-suspended-why-arabs-post-a9102541.html

43) “Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel PM defiant in face of ‘coup'” BBC 22.11.2019

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50512102

44) “In Tel Aviv, Netanyahu die-hards stage an ominous display of fear and anger” The Times of Israel 27.11.2019

https://www.timesofisrael.com/woeful-tel-aviv-protest-stokes-fear-and-loathing-among-netanyahu-diehards/

45) “ANALYSIS: If Boris Johnson is so popular, why are his handlers hiding him away?” PoliticsHome 31.7.2019

https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/conservative-party/boris-johnson/analysis/105682/analysis-if-boris-johnson

46) Margulies, Ben: “Understanding Boris Johnson’s appeal: performative rebelliousness, impishness, and indiscipline” LSE British Politics and Policy 1.8.2019

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-appeal-of-boris-johnson/

47) “Boris Johnson seeks to divide and conquer with his incendiary rhetoric” The Guardian 29.9.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/29/boris-johnson-seeks-to-divide-conquer-with-incendiary-rhetoric

48) “Boris Johnson branded ‘chauvinist’ and ‘racist’ after comments from old book resurface” Independent 24.9.2019

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-fast-lane-the-johnson-guide-to-cars-book-criticism-women-india-a9118196.html

49) “Boris Johnson’s racist insults, dog whitles and slurs” New Statesman 12.6.2019

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2019/06/boris-johnson-s-racist-insults-dog-whistles-and-slurs

50) “15 of the worst things Boris Johnson has said about leaders or other countries” Independent 24.7.2019

https://www.indy100.com/article/boris-johnson-worst-quotes-iran-china-saudi-arabia-russia-turkey-8439071

51) “Campaigners attack Boris Johnson for EU nationals remarks” The Guardian 9.12.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/09/campaigners-attack-boris-johnson-for-eu-nationals-remarks

52) “A ‘passionate Zionist'” Jerusalem Post 25.7.2019

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/A-passionate-Zionist-596689

53) “‘Morally empty’ Johnson is courting fascism, says peer as Tory crisis mounts” The Guardian 12.8.2018

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/12/boris-johnson-courting-fascism-says-peer-tory-crisis

54) The lies, falsehoods and misrepresentations of Boris Johnson and his government

https://boris-johnson-lies.com

55) “Boris Johnson wants to destroy the Britain I love. I cannot vote Conservative” The Guardian 11.12.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/11/boris-johnson-destroy-britain-conservative-revolutionary-sect

56) “Top British diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall quits with searing Brexit critique” CNN 7.12.2019

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/06/uk/top-british-diplomat-quits-brexit-intl/index.html

57) “Arlene Foster accuses PM of breaking his word over Brexit deal” The Guardian 9.12.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/09/arlene-foster-accuses-pm-of-breaking-his-word-over-brexit-deal

58) “Tories threaten Channel 4 after ice sculpture takes PM’s place in debate” The Guardian 28.11.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/28/ice-sculpture-to-replace-boris-johnson-in-channel-4-climate-debate

59) “Boris Johnson pulls out of another BBC interview on day before election” Independent 11.12.2019

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-general-election-bbc-interview-jeremy-vine-andrew-neil-a9242256.html

60) “Boris Johnson avoids meeting with Trump during NATO gathering” NBC News 3.12.2019

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/boris-johnson-looks-avoid-damaging-trump-meeting-during-nato-gathering-n1094656

61) “Donald Trump enjoyed meeting with Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street” Evening Standard 4.12.2019

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/donald-trump-enjoyed-meeting-boris-johnson-a4304036.html

62) “Netanyahu’s London trip to meet Pompeo said nixed after veto from UK officials” The Times of Israel 2.12.2019

https://www.timesofisrael.com/pms-london-trip-to-meet-pompeo-nixed-after-veto-from-uk-officials-report/

63) “Netanyahu: US redeployment in Syria places Israel in better position” Israel Hayom 4.12.2019

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/12/04/netanyahu-pompeo-to-discuss-iran-in-lisbon/

64) “Three’s a crowd: 6 things to know for December 8” The Times of Israel 8.12.2019

https://www.timesofisrael.com/threes-a-crowd-6-things-to-know-for-december-8/

Hostility towards politicians soars in Brexit Britain

Daily Sabah reported that the violence and death threats against British politicians has soared during recent years. The number of alleged crimes reported by Members of Parliament was 151 in 2017 and 342 in 2018. It is estimated that the amount will be over 450 this year. Women and ethnic minorities have been targeted more than others.

Read the full story on Daily Sabah:

https://www.dailysabah.com/europe/2019/12/08/brexit-divides-britain-to-the-point-of-toxifying-countrys-protest-culture

Two US Republican candidates suggest Ilhan Omar should be hanged

Danielle Stella and George Buck, two US Republican congressional candidates, have suggested that Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar “should be tried for treason and hanged.”

Read the full stories:

1) “Ilhan Omar’s opponent barred by Twitter after suggesting congresswoman should be hanged” The Washington Post 29.11.2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/29/ilhan-omars-opponent-suspended-by-twitter-after-suggesting-congresswoman-should-be-hanged/

2) “US Republican faces backlash for suggesting Ilhan Omar be hanged” Al Jazeera 4.12.2019

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/republican-faces-backlash-suggesting-ilhan-omar-hanged-191204194331956.html

President Trump’s senior advisor Stephen Miller’s affinity for white nationalism revealed (again)

Southern Poverty Law Center has published extensive report regarding President Trump’s senior advisor, far-right personality Stephen Miller.

Read the full report here:

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/11/12/stephen-millers-affinity-white-nationalism-revealed-leaked-emails

British hardline right-wingers welcome new controversial youth organization

British hardline right-wingers and Brexiteers, such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel, have been enthusiastic about a new right-wing youth organization Turning Point UK which is a spin-off from a controversial American youth organization Turning Point USA founded by Charlie Kirk. Turning Point USA has close ties with President Trump’s family and inner circle and Fox News as well several alt-right figures and media outlets, for example Steve Bannon and Breitbart News. Kirk is a former contributor to Breitbart News and he also worked for Trump presidential campaign in 2016. (1,2)

The UK organization will be headed by George Farmer, whose father Michael Farmer is a multimillionaire financier and longtime Tory donor. George Farmer has been socializing with some hardline right-wingers, such as Paul Joseph Watson, who works for far-right conspiracy theory website Infowars. George Farmer is engaged to Candace Owens who is a spokeswoman and Director of Communications of the Turning Point USA. George Farmer has caused controversy because of his derogatory and Islamophobic tweets. (1, 3)

Anne Marie Waters, founder of British anti-Muslim party For Britain, has praised the launch of Turning Point UK and hopes to be able to cooperate with the organization (1). Former leader of far-right UKIP party Nigel Farage expressed his support for Turning Point UK on Fox News today:

https://youtu.be/sZlrzwpCEUg

References:

1) “Tory MPs back youth group with apparent links to US far right” The Guardian 4.2.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/04/tory-mps-back-rightwing-youth-group-turning-point-uk

2) “Who Funds Conservative Campus Group Turning Point USA? Donors Revealed” International Business Times 28.11.2017

https://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/who-funds-conservative-campus-group-turning-point-usa-donors-revealed-2620325

3) Turning Point USA website

https://www.tpusa.com

From friend to foe – new American approach to Europe

Perhaps one of the most surprising changes during the Trump presidency has been the change in the attitude towards Europe and particularly the European Union. When asked to identify his biggest competitor or foe during an interview in July 2018, President Trump said:

“Well, I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now, you wouldn’t think of the European Union, but they’re a foe.” (1)

USA and particularly Republicans have increased their cooperation with European far-right and right-wing populist leaders. The former leader of British far-right party UKIP, “Mr. Brexit” Nigel Farage has had close ties particularly to President Trump and Steve Bannon (2). Farage is still campaigning for Brexit and according to him President Trump is a “believer in Brexit” (3, 4). In last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC, organized by American Conservative Union ACU, one of the guest speakers was Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, who describes herself to be “the political heir” of her grandfather Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the French far-right party National Front (5).

President Trump has appointed ambassadors who have caused controversy. The US ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra has worked closely with some American anti-Muslim organizations and he has made several unsubstantiated anti-Muslim claims (6). The US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell caused controversy already before his appointment because of his insulting and derogatory remarks about women. After becoming the ambassador Grenell gave an interview to far-right news outlet Breitbart and said that he wanted to “empower” anti-establishment right-wing forces throughout Europe (7, 8). Steve Bannon has been trying to start a “Trump-style populist insurgency” with his Brussels-based group The Movement. However, many European far-right parties or politicians haven’t been very keen to join his operation (9).

Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has joined Bannon’s group (9, 10). Salvini has also wanted to create “Italian-Polish axis” that could help to spark right-wing populist “European Spring” and replace the center-right “French-German axis” in Europe (11). Poland has become increasingly important ally of USA. President Trump has praised Poland and Polish people “for standing up for their independence, their security and their sovereignty.” The ruling Polish nationalists have wanted to strengthen the American-Polish alliance even more by requesting that USA would establish a permanent armored base, “Fort Trump”, in Poland. European diplomats have been worried that “hard-liners in the White House are using a willing Warsaw as a wedge to divide and weaken the EU, with which Trump has clashed over trade, climate change, defense spending, Middle East diplomacy and global governance” (12).

Reference:

1) “Donald Trump calls the EU ‘a foe’ ahead of Putin summit” Independent 15.7.2018

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/trump-calls-eu-foe-putin-summit-european-union-china-russia-a8448421.html

2) “Nigel Farage on the story behind his friendship with Trump” The New Yorker 30.11.2016

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/nigel-farage-on-the-story-behind-his-friendship-with-trump

3) “Nigel Farage: Trump supports Brexit because it will upend ‘global bureaucracy’” Breitbart 20.12.2018

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/12/20/nigel-farage-trump-supports-brexit-because-it-will-upend-global-bureaucracy/

4) “Nigel Farage joins Leave Means Leave campaign as Vice Chairman” Leave Means Leave

https://www.leavemeansleave.eu/nigel-farage-joins-leave-means-leave-campaign-vice-chairman/

5) “Trump’s GOP is morphing into France’s far right” The Washington Post 23.2.2018

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/23/trumps-gop-is-morphing-into-frances-far-right/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.12446e5a9a6c

6) “New US ambassador to Netherlands regularly made unsubstantiated ‘no-go zones’ claims, speculated 15% of Muslims could be jihadists” CNN 9.1.2018

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/09/politics/kfile-pete-hoekstra-no-go-zones/index.html

7) “Senator weighs holding up Trump nominee over ‘insulting and derogatory’ tweets” The Daily Beast 12.7.2017

https://www.thedailybeast.com/senate-democrat-holding-up-trump-nominee-richard-grenell-over-insulting-and-derogatory-tweets?ref=scroll

8) “New US ambassador to Germany under fire for rightwing support” The Guardian 4.6.2018

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/04/new-us-ambassador-to-germany-under-fire-for-rightwing-support

9) “Steve Bannon’s far-right Europe operation undermined by election laws” The Guardian 21.11.2018

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/21/steve-bannons-rightwing-europe-operation-undermined-by-election-laws

10) “Italy’s Matteo Salvini joins Bannon’s European populist group” The Guardian 8.9.2018

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/08/italy-matteo-salvini-joins-steve-bannon-european-populist-group-movement

11) “Salvini calls for ‘Italian-Polish axis’ to replace Paris-Berlin” EurActiv 10.1.2019

https://www.euractiv.com/section/eu-elections-2019/news/salvini-calls-for-italian-polish-axis-to-replace-paris-berlin/

12) “Poland’s risky ‘America first’ policy” Politico 6.10.2018