Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-12-12-Speech-3-250"
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"en.20071212.28.3-250"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is scarcely believable. Four or five weeks ago I was invited to attend a counter-demonstration to a demonstration organised by parties of the far Right in my region. There were only 30 extremists demonstrating, whereas a large gathering of more than a thousand had assembled to demonstrate against them. In those circumstances, when you stand in front of those right-wing extremists, you say to yourself, ‘This is scarcely believable’. After that century in Europe, how can anyone revert to extremism, go back to strutting about full of hatred and arrogance and agitating against others?
The debate we are holding today is welcome and important. Extremism is a cancer in our society. Time and again we politicians appeal to people’s moral courage, expecting them to rise up and protest against this extremism. I believe it is also time to give thanks that such moral courage exists in abundance, that so many people do rise up in protest. What is extremism? Let me stress that, when we speak of banning political parties, of banning the public expression of opinions and positions, it goes without saying that such measures must not be based on political judgements. They must be based on an objective criterion. We have defined that objective criterion today in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which sets out the essence of our basic values. If parties or politicians attack those values, the courts must decide whether their actions are illegal and, if so, impose a ban.
What should be done if candidates of extremist parties are elected, if such parties win seats? Firstly, there must be no cooperation with these parties, and I am grateful to the Socialist Members, who have expelled their Slovakian member party from their ranks for cooperating with extremists. Secondly, we must not overlook the fact that such electoral successes stem from public dissatisfaction, and we must not respond to them by maligning voters but rather by addressing underlying issues. Thirdly, I wish to emphasise that extremism often begins with small steps in the party landscape too, and we must be aware of this. My message is therefore ‘Do not let it take root!’
Political extremism exists on the Left and Right, and both are equally bad. That needs to be emphasised. Europe has experienced extremism, and Europe has suffered from extremism. Progress has been made in the fight against extremism. It is a fight that is worth waging. And it is a fight that we shall ultimately win."@en1
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