Do not rejoice in his defeat, you men.
For though the world has stood up and stopped the bastard,
the bitch that bore him is in heat again.
—Bertold Brecht, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
The neo-Nazi Christian conservative who slaughtered scores of young progressives in a shooting spree is no more a “loner” than a Hamas suicide bomber.
Europe is, just under the media radar for the most part, experiencing a massive surge of far-right sentiment—gleefully applauded by some “conservatives” right here at home. From the Belgian Vlams Belang to far-right Austrian parties (Austria has, in fairness, never really been de-Nazified) to the Italian Liga Nord, to the Swiss outlawing minarets, to the French deportations of Roma, fascist politics, or at least fascist political positions, are becoming mainstream.
And there are many other examples. The current mayor of Rome, after his election, was greeted with stiff-armed salutes and cries of “Duce! Duce!” Finland has the surging True Finns; and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is not above a little scapegoating to win political points.
I’m not suggesting for a moment that we stop worrying about Islamism and the anti-civilian terrorism that accompanies it. But, as events in Norway indicate, we are facing a serious threat much closer to home—and there is solid historical precedent for being concerned.