# Is The European Left Like the American Right **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 22, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-european-left-like-the-american-right/582830 "2011-05-22T23:53:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-european-left-like-the-american-right/582830/21 "2011-05-23T23:54:40Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Are you talking the Political left wing parties or far left protest groups. There are left wing parties in power either on their own or in coalitions in many European countries. E.G. The Labour Party (Centre Left) are in coalition with Fine Gael (Centre Right) are in power in Ireland and the Tory’s are in power with the Lib Dems. The Labour Party here and the Lib Dems don’t take part in violent protests over themselves. > > The OP is way to broad and also seemingly ill informed. Far left protest groups, as the Tea Party too isn’t an organized political party. > [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > In very general terms, there’s a lot more divergence of organized social/economic opinion in Europe than in the U.S. The US doesn’t _have_ an organized left wing to speak of. In the sense that “the european left” (which doesn’t exist except as a very broad term applying to multitudes of regional parties and organizations) has the clout to stage protests and get some political influence, yes, they’re “like” the American extreme right. > > I do want to note that the vast majority of the “european left” power are democratic, generally strongly anti-violent political parties with huge popular appeal. Not quasi-fascistic morons who get scared into “action” by semi-religious and xenophobic arguments (that would describe the currently popular factions of the extreme right, both in the US and in Europe, from Tea Partiers to Wilder’s PVV). Oh yes, Wilder’s party came into being after the murder of Theo Van Gogh by an Islamist and the assassination of Pym Fortuyn by a PC nut. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-european-left-like-the-american-right/582830/22 "2011-05-24T00:06:17Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > You should try the Bébé braisé avec vinaigrette aux framboises. It’s fantastic. I thought it was called _escargoogoo_. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-european-left-like-the-american-right/582830/23 "2011-05-24T08:08:42Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Far left protest groups, as the Tea Party too isn’t an organized political party. > > Oh yes, Wilder’s party came into being after the murder of Theo Van Gogh by an Islamist and the assassination of Pym Fortuyn by a PC nut. :rolleyes: The rise of the party of Wilders and Pim Fortuyn are more a reaction to the stagnation of the established parties, the workers party (PvdA) in Holland had what we call a “regenten -mentaliteit” an ivory tower way of governing, taking their voter base for granted The parties that made the biggest gains are the populist parties to the further right and left. the voters of the far left SP (The Socialist Party) are more likely to vote for the far right PVV(anti Immigration party) then a party more to the centre, and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-european-left-like-the-american-right/582830/24 "2011-05-24T11:17:12Z")
No. More specifically, shouldn’t a question about their similarity be based on something more like their agenda or goals? What do they strike for? How are they similar in those respects? The OP’s framing is superficial in the extreme. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-european-left-like-the-american-right/582830/25 "2011-05-24T14:21:40Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > In the US, the Right-wing is generally considered by those of the progressive persuasion to be uncooperative, inflexible, uncompromising, fanatical, etc. The new [Pew Political Typology](http://people-press.org/2011/05/04/beyond-red-vs-blue-the-political-typology/) is instructive here. The “right-wing” in the above terms are the Staunch Conservatives (9% of adult population, 11% of registered voters). But they share the GOP with the Main Street Republicans (11% of adult population, 14% of registered voters) — the sort Tea Party Republicans deride as RINOs. The Staunch Conservatives have no analogue on the LW side, not in America. The nearest equivalent would be the Solid Liberals, but not even they are what a European would call a “leftist”. The Staunch Conservatives **are** uncompromising, fanatical, etc. However, they are also **old,** the oldest average age of the nine typology groups. And that’s a generational-culture thing, not a stage-of-life thing – the Staunch Conservatives, as they die off, will **not** be replaced by comparable numbers of Staunch Conservatives from younger generations, because younger generations, whatever social environment they were raised in, simply do not share their world-view. The Staunch Conservatives will leave the GOP to the Main Street Republicans or some equivalent, eventually. The difference between the American Right and the European Left, **Qin,** is that the European Left is **not dying.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-european-left-like-the-american-right/582830.md?page=1)