Is Le Pen poison spreading?

THE second round of the French election beckons and fellow far-right travellers in the rest of Europe await their turn in the history of yet another period of man's inhumanity to man. That includes those in the North-East of England, a land ripe for the serpent's tongue in an otherwise garden of Eden.

Let us never forget that Adolf Hitler started his political career with a vote of just two per cent of the populace, and the rest of the world slept whilst his followers marched into power under the shadow of night.

And the far right are casting their shadow again across Europe and throughout England, in Gateshead and Sunderland (with impending local elections), as in the Lancashire hotspots of Oldham and Preston and even in Darlington, peddling their hatred in leaflets amongst the poorest and run-down estates of the region, where the race card is easy to play.

All the European leaders have united in their condemnation of the first French ballot, from the Spanish interior minister urging action on behalf of all nation states who see the stability of democratic systems under threat, to the Green politicians of Germany in a classic understatement, noting that Europe had "been left with much to think about".

Neil Kinnock, the British European Commissioner, spoke of the "shock and horror" of this trend in European politics and felt that the French result "throws a great, dirty rock into the European political pool".

The manifesto of the far right is not something that the British have ever really embraced: the anti-Americanism, anti-immigrant, anti-abortion, anti-globalisation, pro-capital punishment arguments are not something in our make-up.

But the ripples from this dirty rock are beginning to be witnessed in our own region. There were of course the riots in Burnley, Oldham and Bradford last year, but these were seemingly inspired by outsiders who focused on the alienated and isolated, of whatever colour.

However, racists with links to the British National Party (BNP), Combat 18 and the National Front, are coming out of the woodwork. The anti-fascist magazine Searchlight has observed how the North-East has become yet again a target for the far right in the run up to local elections.

Identity, the magazine of the British National Party for example, has described the BNP's Sunderland vote in the last general election as the party's best ever result in "a difficult area with great potential".

The BNP and the National Front (like the Brownshirts and the Nazis, not always the happiest of bedfellows) are placing candidates in Sunderland and Newcastle, and leafleting has taken place in Gateshead and Darlington. The police in Darlington are to be commended for their interception of the dawn leafleting as the prevention of incitement to racial hatred.

The Tyne and Wear Anti-Fascist Association has been one of a number of groups in the region which are featured in the pages of fascist literature, after the association worked with the local press in exposing racially-motivated activities which could incite hatred. The National Front has recently held paper sales in Durham and Sunderland, although the events appear to have been little more than minor publicity stunts.

Searchlight has published details of one specific exercise in which fascist groups have been seen to exploit the refugee and asylum issue to their benefit.

A local campaign group in Otterburn, 30 miles outside Newcastle, has objected to refugees being housed in the village, which borders the largest military training ground in England. Villagers and groups working with asylum seekers say that it is unacceptable to place refugees, many of whom are fleeing from war zones, in an area where there is constant gunfire and tank movements. The villagers claim that the refugees would also be isolated as there are no support services and public transport is virtually non-existent.

Searchlight observed that a leafleter from the National Front was turned away at the door of a public meeting in March, but the fascists are still trying to muscle in on the issue, although the locals are totally against any NF support, and they have publicly denied race or crime as important aspects to their protest.

Anti-fascists who work in the North-East are liaising with local and community groups, including churches, to prevent the dissemination of inflammatory literature in schools, community centres and workplaces.

The clash of immigrant and indigenous cultures may well have led to the ultra right gaining political ground in Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Italy and now France, but is this a warning for the tolerant British? Our own fascist groups have barely amounted to more than a ripple on the political landscape, but we must not bury our heads in ignorance, pretending that this trend will simply go away.

Is so-called "third world" immigration reaching levels beyond the tolerance of European societies, even the traditionally conservative British? After all, the English struggle to raise the flag of St George for fear of some nationalistic agenda. At the root of our Britishness, is it not tolerance which is part of our national character?

In Britain, Dr Jonathan Sacks, the chief rabbi, spoke of those who had long political memories who saw the spectre of fascism raising its head. He said: "We must hope that the voice of tolerance prevails decisively." Several generations after the genocide of the Second World War, those events of history may be fading in the memories of those who directly or indirectly were affected by man's inhumanity to man, including the irony of the victim of historic genocide becoming the modern day perpetrator.

Noticeable for its lack of comment has been the US, a nation of nationalities. The official statement was that the US government did not comment on the democratic process of other countries. Really? It is not like the United States to be so reluctant to intervene in the affairs of the world.

The archive evidence is there for all to see. Many countries, including Britain and the United States, were cautious when first confronted with the anti-communist democratically elected National Socialists of Germany. After September 11, perhaps the world is more fearful and vulnerable as never before. And fear is usually the offspring of ignorance, and both result in violence and racial discrimination.

Perhaps the real motivation for what has happened in France and elsewhere in Europe is less to do with immigration and more to do with a growing unease in the type of centre politics pervading the region. Low turnouts, apathy and a feeling of a lack of empowerment in ordinary people is a breeding ground for any extremist.

Every now and again the populace feels that it needs to let off steam. Let us hope that the internationalism behind the forthcoming football World Cup will demonstrate that the world is a better place for its diversity. Hopefully, we will rejoice in our differences and not use them to attack one another.

History provided us with lessons for the future. The people in the North-East have an opportunity to express the very best of human nature in the local elections, as well as the worst. Let us hope that the poison of Le Pen does not infect our region, and that eventually, the dark shadow of fascism retreats back into the woodwork where it belongs.