David_Cameron at World Economic Forum 2010 - wikimedia commons[/caption]Carol Forsloff---A recent article in Foreign Affairs magazine points out what the author maintains is a "dangerous" game being played by David Cameron, Britian's prime minister, as catering to right-wing interests that could impact much of the free world. The comments match up with the concerns of political theorists in the US as well and therefore deserve our attention.
What is that dangerous game? Matthias Matthijs says it is the flirtation concerning possible withdrawal from the European Union. The right-wing has been putting pressure on Cameron to withdraw from the EU, with headlines in its press that include, “EU Wants to Merge UK With France” and “EU Will Grab Britain’s Gas.” Both of these recently appeared in the Daily Express, one of Great Britain's right-wing publications.
Commentators see this action as emulating those of other Prime Ministers, like Margaret Thatcher, with the resulting negatives against the conservative party.
In the United States, the isolationist mind remains strong in the ongoing debates over immigration and States rights vs those of the Federal Government. The right-wing in the United States wants to close down much of US immigration, restrict its associations with certain of its allies, and emphasize state over Federal rights in many social welfare and political arenas, that include health care, gun control and other hot-button issues.
And like David Cameron's flirting with the right-wing's most extreme notions, progressives in the United States see the potential for President Barack Obama to lose his standing with more liberal groups if he compromises too much with the right-wing demands, even as the Republican right becomes increasingly diminished politically as a result of the government shutdown and the upcoming vote on the debt ceiling.
Right-wing extremism worries people on both sides of the Atlantic.
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