Conservative Winds Blowing over Europe

Nicholas Sarkozy's victory as President of France further indicates a backlash against liberalism is underway on the European continent. For years European liberals not only pushed a socialist economic agenda, but forced multiculturalism down the throats of a people whose racial history is dubious to say the least. Joining Angela Merkel and most likely David Cameron as Conservative leaders of the three major European Union members, Sarkozy has the ability to create a new constructive partner for the United States. Sarkozy differs from his conservative party predecessor Jacque Chirac in three major areas: Unlike Chirac, an old Gaullist, Sarkozy seeks a genuine friendship with the United States. Sarkozy does not hold any illusions that France can be a world leader without American cooperation. Secondly Sarkozy is as opposed to Turkish admission to the EU as Chirac was supportive of it. Thirdly, Sarkozy is a hard liner on immigration and his strong stands in this direction undercut right winger Jean Le Pen who had his worst election showing since 1974. Today six of the eight major western democracies are governed by Conservatives, with the only exceptions, Italy and the U.K. having weak, possibly soon to fall governments of the left.

The forced secularism and multiculturalism on the European public by its leaders seems about to peter out. Interestingly this is happening at the very same time in the United States in a different direction. The overreaching by conservative in the USA on social issues, the Iraq War and religion has created a mini electoral backlash.

American liberals mindlessly cite Europe as a center of culture, tolerance and secularism and run down the United States as the opposite when history has demonstrated if anything the opposite. While a young United States opened its arms to people of all religious persuasions, European nations were marching around the globe fulfilling what they considered a "White Man's Burden" in conquering Asian and African nations. While Jews faced persecution and death throughout Europe, they were able to come to the United States and practice their religion freely.

While European Governments have imposed a multicultural model towards Muslims, Africans and South Asians coming in, the United States has attempted to cleanly integrate these people. The presence of Muslims into Western European society has created all sorts of social strife which leaders like Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair seemed to be geniunly surprised by. However, conservative victories in Europe owe themselves as much to willingness of the right to embrace Environmental issues and Global Warming than to the elements I have discussed above. This is a very important factor for the Republican Party to acknowledge and understand.

The United States actually has more Muslims than any Western European nation. However, these Muslims are mostly integrated and useful members of American society. The excessive rhetoric towards Muslims from the American right not withstanding, these Muslims have become as American as Apple Pie, while Muslims in Germany, Holland, France and the United Kingdom have failed to integrate in their new nations. What the American right fails to understand is that Muslims are in many ways the perfect Republican voters if they aren't race baited, but that is a topic for another day.

The expansion of the European Union, immigration of Muslims and open hostility towards religion by European elites all seem to have run their course with the citizens of Europe's proudest and most important nations. Now as Europe embarks on a Conservative era, let's hope that a genuine cooperation can be struck with President George W. Bush, who in some ways must feel vindicated that his two greatest critics in Europe, Gerhard Schroeder and Jacques Chirac are out of power.