The
Identitarians: charming far-right with slick PR
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Backlight
Sanne
Stevens 27 april 2018
https://tegenlicht.vpro.nl/artikelen/de-identitairen-charmant-extreemrechts-met-gelikte-pr
In
'Radical Right Vanguard' a number of important leaders of the Identitarians can
be seen. They look hip, have slick PR and are very friendly. But in the
meantime, their ideology is unadulterated far-right.
The
classic neo-Nazis
I catch
myself surprised: they have the clothing style of a hipster sipping a soy latte
in an authentic coffee shop with 'local products'. A style that I generally do
not associate at all with the ultra-conservative, xenophobic and nationalistic
ideas that are being expressed here. Apparently there is something in me that
expects radical right-wing young people to be clumsy bald creeps.
Of
course, that expectation is also based on something. I met them, the violent
neo-Nazis. In the provincial town where I grew up, you sometimes met them. That
was not pleasant. My most terrifying encounter with Nazis was in Berlin, when I
and friends encountered two huge bald guys at night who were chasing a black
boy. First the boy came running, terrified in his gaze. And then those huge,
bald figures. I saw a swastika necklace glistening in the light of a lamppost.
In total bewilderment, I said to my friend just a little too loudly: 'Did you
see that - Nazis...!' One of the figures immediately interrupted his pursuit
and turned threateningly towards me. 'Was the....Nazis?!' I stumbled a bit, and
the final rescue was the second Nazi, who, after some discussion, insisted that
the pursuit of their original victim should be continued. I always hoped that
he had been given enough time to get away by now. It was not heroic - and to
this day I don't know what to do, or what to do, in such a case.
Such
neo-Nazis were active on the margins all over Europe: in the Netherlands, even
more so in Germany, in Sweden and Eastern Europe. There were arson attacks,
attacks on immigrants or left-wing subcultures. And they are still there. In
fact, the number of cases of far-right violence has skyrocketed in Germany, for
example. The Identitarians are unmistakably not such neo-Nazis. They do not use
violence, but focus on public actions. They are modern, intellectual
millennials.
Reconquest
Not that
there are no links with the more 'classical' neo-Nazi movements. Take Daniel
Fiss, seen as the head of the Identitarian movement in Germany: he was
previously involved in a neo-Nazi movement, which has since been banned. He
calls it a 'youthful sin' and swears to have chosen the peaceful path. They
invariably fall into a victim role when someone associates them with Nazis: it
is the mainstream press that tries to destroy us, nationalism just has a bad
name in Germany. 'We are not fascists, we are patriots!'. Oh yes. Who also
happen to want to stop all immigration and fight for a 'reconquest of Europe
from Islam'. The word comes up a few times in the broadcast: Reconquista. A
historical term that refers to the Crusades and a period in medieval Spain, in
which Christian kingdoms managed to reconquer the area from the Muslims. A
period of violent expulsion and persecution of Jews and Muslims. The Identitarians like to opt for this kind
of historical references. Their symbol is a circle with the ancient Greek
letter lambda, after the Spartan shields and as seen in the movie '300'. In the
'Radical Right Vanguard' you can see a designer of the Identitarians working on
a knightly illustration, under the watchful eye of an Eagle statue. There is
something clumsy about it.
In
general, the design of the Identitarians is anything but clumsy - and that is
precisely their strength. Especially the French branch, with which it started
in 2012, excels in a professional slick communication style. Take their latest
action campaign: a border guard patrol in the Alps. In this video, the sleek
campaign logo adorns a shiny Jeeps and a helicopter; who skims past proud boys
and girls. Looking straight into the camera, they stand in identical sporty
soft blue jackets among the mountains. Everything is white, red or blue. A
beautifully orchestrated image. And other videos are also great; Even painting
a banner - which will no doubt be hung over a mosque somewhere with an
unfriendly text - looks quite glamorous with the right filters and assembly.
Pure
No, these
are indeed not muscular, bald neo-Nazis: method and style are completely
different. Where it really pinches is the content. Behind those beautiful
filters is a very aggressive message. It is not often explicitly about race,
but about a culture belonging to the fatherland, which must above all remain
pure. Pure from immigration, from other cultures that belong elsewhere. All
Muslims and other immigrants must leave, willingly or unwillingly. That is the
obvious agenda. In addition, there is a pronounced conspiracy thinking and
underdog feeling; One is a victim of a left-wing, progressive elite that is in
charge everywhere. They even call themselves victims of the 'generation of May
'68', to whom they declare war with a great sense of drama. Because this
generation would have made abject things like multiculturalism and feminism big
for them. Would have power over all important institutions, and run them in a
progressive way. It is a well-known right-wing story - also in the Netherlands
the left-wing oppressive elite seems to be in charge. The fact that the VVD has
been the largest party for years, the Telegraaf is still the largest newspaper
and the best-watched programs are football matches time and time again, seem
irrelevant details. The left is in power, and oppresses the people.
This
hatred for an imagined progressive elite and the overarching ideology of the
new radical right-wing movements - including the American Alt-Right - is very
well represented in the very complete article 'War against the baby boomers' by
Jaap Tielbeke in the Groene Amsterdammer. An absolute must for more
understanding of the ideology behind the faces of the freshly dressed boys.
War
against the baby boomers
For the
new right, May '68 is both a point of entry and a source of inspiration. Using
the same tactics as the 'soixante-huitards', a coalition of unsavoury currents
is fighting for a right-wing revolution that will save European civilisation.
Tasteless
stunts
There is
also a branch of the Identitarians active in the Netherlands, who try to
generate publicity with striking actions. For the time being, the low point is
an action that followed the unveiling of a statue of Nelson Mandela. The
Identitair Verzet, as the Dutch branch calls itself, placed a car tire next to
a cardboard sign with 'communist terrorist' near the statue. A stark reference
to the gruesome execution method 'necklacing', which was widely used in
lynching actions during Apartheid. Mainly tasteless and in no way the PR value
of the actions by their French or Austrian 'brothers'
The
latter are very successful, by the way, but also have a pretty unsuccessful
stunt to their name, which ended with an absurd plot twist. It is the story of
the large ship that had to stop migrants at sea, which also comes to the fore
in the broadcast. They still sell this as a heroic success. But the mission was
a succession of failures. For example, the boat was stopped in the Suez Canal
when the captain could not provide a correct crew list; the crew turned out to
consist partly of unregistered Sri Lankans, who wanted to apply for asylum in
one of the ports on the way. Even more ironic was the end of the mission, when
the ship had engine trouble and had to be rescued by one of the aid
organizations that are at sea to rescue refugees.
Warm
tyres
This kind
of story is reassuring: the Identitarians are, after all, a marginal phenomenon
that gets a lot of attention because they produce good publicity stunts, but
otherwise get little done. But it is a given that the radical right is also
growing outside these action groups. In addition, there is a warm bond between
the various organizations and political parties. In Austria, for example, where
an investigation by the internal security service into connections between FPÖ,
neo-Nazis and identitarians was interrupted by a raid by a police service under
the authority of the FPÖ. That at least gives food for thought.
New
right, alt-right, or Nazi hipsters; The similarity is their shared ideology of
intolerance, conservatism and xenophobia. An ideology of a fatherland free of
all blemishes, where tradition and family are central. The fact that they
prefer to call themselves 'patriots' and proclaim this philosophy in a tight
shirt, with a hip haircut and a charming smile, does not detract from that.
More
background: in short
• The
Identitaire Movement started in France with Génération identitaire (youth
section 'Bloc identitaire', which emerged from the 'Unité radicale', which was
banned in 2002). Predecessors of
Identitarian Movement: are also CasaPound (Italy).
• The
German Identitäre Bewegung (IB) arose from the Neue Rechte; Neue Rechte arose
from the NPD.
• Central
conspiracy in Identitäre Bewegung is 'omvolking' or what is called exchange
(Austausch). They agitate against immigration, Islam, the culture of guilt in
Germany as a result of the Second World War and the Holocaust, asylum and aid
to people and countries outside Germany and Europe. In addition to refugees,
immigration and Islam, there are also demonstrations against #metoo and
feminism. The German Identitäre Bewegung has clear, personal connections with
Pegida, Pro-NRW, Bürgerbewegung Pro Deutschland, HoGeSa and the NPD. Recently,
AfD in Germany and FPÖ in Austria have been added.
Since its
inception, there have also been connections with Deutsche Burschenschaft, a
network of German and Austrian 'student associations' that strive for a Greater
Germany.
• The
Identitäre Bewegung network includes funds, publishers, magazines. 'Blaue
Narzisse' by Felix Menzel, 'Compact' by Jürgen Elsässer, the weekly magazine
'Junge Freiheit', and the publishing houses of Götz Kubitschek that is featured
in the episode (Institut für Staatspolitik, Sezession, Verlag Antaios)
(thanks
to wltrrr)
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