Topic In spite of the current tensions

Topic

In spite of the current tensions, and unlike other European countries, it is slightly probable and successful that there turns out to be in Spain a party that does of the xenophobia, the racism or the restriction of the immigration his principal message.

Resume

Spain has reached in a few years a percentage of foreign population, 9 %, similarly to that of many European countries of ancient immigration in which xenophobic parties have arisen. The concentration of the immigrant population in certain neighborhoods and the delinquency led by some foreigners, they provoke social tensions that small groups of right-wing try to canalize. Nevertheless, the weakness of the Spanish nationalism party and the rejection to the pro-Franco signs that these parties exhibit, make very improbable that are successful.

Analysis

In the majority of the European countries with high percentages of immigration they have turned out to be current of public xenophobic opinion which have fed the formation of political parties with a message against inmigration. These parties have had unequal successes. In some cases they have turned into important and stable political forces, as the National French Front, in others they have achieved momentary successes, as the Ready Pym Fortuyn of Holland, and in others they have remained to half a way between the marginality and the institutional presence, without obtaining parliamentary weight, as the National Party of the United Kingdom. The appearance and the success or failure of these parties depends on a great number of factors and many of them are imponderable. A high level of immigrant population, a strong nationalism from the autochthonous population, unemployment from the autochthonous ones, difficulties of the Welfare State to attend to the immigrants without diminishing the quality or quantity of his services, imputable increases of the delinquency to the immigrants … all of them are elements that favor the appearance of the xenophobic parties

Anothers importance of determining are purely political and institutional: a xenophobic party will not turn out to be or start to have success if anyone of the principal parties assumes already a speech xenophobic and offers in favour of reducing or to impede the immigration. The electoral procedure have also a notable influence: the most proportional systems facilitate the arrival to the Parliament of the new parties, habitually small in his origin, whereas the majority systems, as the Britisher, impede it.

On the other hand, given the complexity and the variety of aspects to which response must give a political party to obtain electoral support, the monothematic parties as those who are defined basically like xenophobic, are condemned to take only momentary successes, since it happened with the Ready Pym Fortuyn or the Austrian Liberal party directed by Jörg Haider, or to remain always in minority in the political life, as the National Front Frenchman headed by Jean Marie Le Pen. But his political effect goes beyond his electoral results: the appearance of these groups has an effect on the traditional majority parties that can turn tempted to gather some of his recoveries for dread of losing possible voters in his favor, specially if they are capable of mobilizing his followers and a presence to be gained in the street and in the mass media.

Table 1. Percentage of vote obtained by parties anti-immigration in parliamentary choices: proved more high places of his electoral history

Lista Pym Fortuyn (Netherlands) 17% (2002)

Austrian Liberal party 27% (1999)

Flemish Belgian Block 12% (24% in Flandes) (2003)

Danish People’s party 13% (2005)

Norwegian Progress party 15% (2001)

National French Front 11% (2002) (20% en la 2ª vuelta de las elecc. presidenciales del 2002)

National British Party 4% (2005)

Fuente: own elaboration.

In Spain there does not exist from the present any party

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