From The Guardian (of all places), and not by someone at all sympathetic to Putin. It appears that some journalists are beginning to wake up and notice what for too long they preferred not to see. A bit late, of course. **** Ukrainian authorities and mainstream opinion in Ukraine continue to show unacceptable ignorance of the danger from the far right and even openly neo-Nazi forces, cooperating with them in elections and allowing them to take positions within law enforcement. The major Ukrainian far-right party Svoboda did not get into parliament in recent elections, falling only 0.3% short of the required minimum of 5%. It was not able to repeat its success of 2012 when it got more than 10%, exploiting the image of the most radical party against the former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych in contrast to discredited moderate opposition. The party’s support might have been boosted by anti-Yanukovych feelings but it shouldn’t be wholly dismissed as a protest vote; the 4.7% gain is much higher than the 0.8% in 2007 during the last parliamentary elections before his rule. Besides, the Right Sector, made up of fringe ultra-nationalist groups before the mass street violence began in Kiev in January, was able to form a party and get 1.8%, obviously taking some votes from Svoboda. It is short-sighted and formalistic to conclude that the Ukrainian far right is insignificant based on the lack of electoral success. The rhetoric of many politicians which could be called centrist or even liberal has moved significantly to the right, competing for the increasingly patriotic and even nationalist voters. There were a number of incidents of hate speech used even by top Ukrainian politicians such as the minister of interior, Arsen Avakov, referring to Donetsk separatists as “colorados”, a pejorative, dehumanising label which compares them with the Colorado beetle due to their orange and black St George’s ribbons. In an increasingly nationalist political competition, the far-right parties failed to propose anything outstanding. But it does not mean they cannot do it later.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 16:57:40 +0000
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