"Mike Hyum, The European Conservative
When I saw the footage of the riot in the city of Leeds, Northern England, I said to myself: “And they wonder why millions of Britons voted for Nigel!”. And yet if one follows the media coverage of this fire here, in the United Kingdom, one could imagine that Nigel Farage somehow started it.
Where does the threat to European democracy and civilization today come from? Is our society collapsing due to establishment policies of mass migration and multiculturalism? Or is the blame on those who dare to point it out and protest against it? A foolish question, of course, but still a serious one in light of recent events in the European Parliament and on the streets."
In her last plea to the Members of the European Parliament to approve her reappointment last week, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated before the European Parliament that she will "never allow the final polarization of our societies to become acceptable." Who is she accusing of these divisions?
"I will never accept that demagogues and extremists destroy our European way of life. And today I stand here, ready to lead the fight with all democratic forces in this hall." In other words, President Ursula wants to blame the "far right" for the dangers of "extreme polarization" in Europe. The subtext is that these divisions are not based on the reality of European life, but are simply fueled by the rhetoric of the "far right".
The senseless idea that the populist right is the one that threatens to "destroy our European way of life" and democracy, has now become an excuse for imposing a so-called sanitary cordon around national conservative members of the European Parliament. According to The European Conservative, the sanitary cordon means that the new group "Patriots for Europe" is forbidden from taking important positions in the European Parliament - positions that are due to them as the third largest group of MEPs.
This blatant act of political censorship is presented as a health measure, a sanitary cordon, to protect European democracy from what the left often calls the "virus" of populism. However, on the same day that von der Leyen gave her speech about the right-wing "demagogues and extremists" causing "extreme polarization in our societies", reality shattered her fantasy. In Leeds at that very moment the true divisions in European society literally erupted in flames as local rioters set fire to the heavily migrant-populated district of Harehills.
The reason for the riots in Leeds was not the "inciting" rhetoric of far-right politicians. This was violence from migrants who have not been integrated into British society and do not feel like a part of the country that has accepted them. It all started with a clash between social workers police and a Roma family which then spread and intensified when other people of Asian origin joined in.
The sporadic unrest continued throughout the night, as the Yorkshire police, which apparently did not believe it could defend the interests of Britain, withdrew and left the crowd to take over the streets. The events are a scathing indictment against the official policies of mass migration and multiculturalism, which lead to division. And yet the reaction of the mainstream was to attack those who were trying to speak the truth about what was happening.
Farage, leader of Reform UK and newly elected MP, wrote on Twitter during the riot that "the subcontinent's politics are now playing out on the streets of Leeds." "Do not say that I did not warn you!" Faraj's warning did not fall on listening ears, as Labour Party deputies in Leeds went into denial mode, accusing Farage of spreading "misinformation" and even demanding an apology from him. Farage's characteristic sharp response was to ask when the Labour Party would apologize for the irresponsible mass migration.
In the meantime according to several media outlets, the hero of the hour was the local Green Party councillor Motin Ali, who pleaded with the rioters not to set fire to the area they lived in. This is the same Ali who celebrated his election to the Leeds City Council in May by shouting the Islamic proclamation "Allahu Akbar!" Such a activist of the green community, of course, should not in any way be confused with an "extremist", fueling "extreme polarization".
The political and media establishment in the United Kingdom has effectively tried to throw a sanitary cord and around the riots in Leeds - not to save society from the actual violence on a religious basis, but to keep away those who were pointing fingers at the reasons for them. This was a shameful example of a policy of denial that has accompanied migration and cultural integration debates in Europe for decades and has come to the point where you can be called a racist if you condemn the rioters.
In Brussels, the term "sanitary cord" is now openly used in European politics, as if it were a legitimate democratic tool and even the protection of democracy. In fact this is an anti-democratic tool aimed at isolating and silencing politicians who are considered non-conformist enough and taking away the voice of millions who vote for them. The origin of the sanitary cordon is instructive. In the past, it was a medical term describing a physical barrier designed to protect the sick and prevent the spread of diseases such as plague or cholera, at a time when little was known about the origins of diseases or potential treatments. Although the practice of forcibly isolating the sick is long-standing, the term "sanitary cordon" was first used in 1821 when the Duke of Richelieu positioned 30,000 French soldiers along the border with Spain in the Pyrenees to protect France from the yellow fever rampant in Catalonia.
However there was a political element even then. As noted by "Wikipedia", the Duke arranged his army along the border, "in order to prevent the spread of yellow fever from Barcelona to France, but in fact mainly to prevent the spread of liberal ideas from constitutional Spain" in France from the 19th century, which was in one of its monarchical phases, between revolutions.
Today the sanitary cordon is openly used in Europe as a political weapon, to keep the "virus" of populism at bay, which is now threatening to "infect" the political body of the EU. Despite the claims of von der Leyen and her allies, this is not about limiting "extremism".
The article is about the delegitimization of the national conservatives, whose belief in the European principles of national sovereignty and democracy seems scandalous to globalist elites. These "anti-extremist" elites are more than happy to entertain the far left.
They stripped the group of Patriots of the prestigious post of Vice President of the European Parliament and instead gave it to French left-wing MEP Younous Omarjee, accused of supporting Islamist terrorists from "Hamas." This shameful glory did not prevent the "moderates" from celebrating his appointment as a supposed victory for democracy.
It is understandable that many Europeans are not interested in the game of "Musical Chairs"*, which decides who will get what position in the Brussels commission. But the stakes here are much higher. The sanitary cordon is thrown not only around the sovereign MEPs. It is also imposed on the millions of people they represent and who demanded a real change in the European elections.
By excluding these voices the leftist-centrist elites plan to continue their usual activities in Brussels, imposing their disastrous Green Deal and Migration Pact, without caring about the issues faced by the members of the EP or the rebellious nations of Europe.
Attacks against populism are always aimed at the population, at the people - those who invest demo in democracy. That is why we must resist all insults and censorship. Breaking the sanitary cordon is not only related to the chairs and deputy presidents in Brussels.
How The Establishment are Undermining Democracy This is about protecting our right to challenge the establishment and our freedom to speak the truth about what is happening in Europe. The freedom to expose their denial and distortion of the real threat to "our European way of life," to call things by their true names and to call the rebellion anti-British and anti-European rebellion.
* Musical chairs, also known as Trip to Jerusalem, is an elimination game involving players, chairs and music. It is a popular game at many parties around the world.
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About the author Mick Hume is an English journalist and writer, living in London. For 10 years he was a columnist for The Times (London). Currently, he writes for The European Conservative, Spiked, The Daily Mail and The Sun. He is the author of Revolting! How The Establishment are Undermining Democracy. "How the Establishment is Undermining Democracy and What They're Afraid Of (2017) and Trigger Warning: Is the Fear of Being Offensive Killing Free Speech? (2016), both published by Harper Collins."