Far-Right Parties Win Big in Europe

The far-right scored a major victory in France and throughout Europe in the elections for the European Parliament.  

“When there is such a vote in France, a founding member of the European Union — when one in four vote for the (far-right) National Front, yes, there is a problem,” said French President Hollande. “This is not just a problem for France, but a problem for Europe.” (The New York Times, 27 May)

European presidents and prime ministers met in Brussels on Tuesday to assess the fallout from the election, in which centrist political parties lost ground to fringe groups in country after country.

The mainstream parties “are all in a disaster because they have not done their job,” said Jean-Paul Fitoussi, an economics professor at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris. “They have not found a solution to the problem of France, which is to recover, to have employment and growth.” (NTTimes, 27 May)

In France, 31 percent of voters surveyed by Harris Interactive cited immigration, the rallying point for the far right across the Continent, as their central concern. But nearly as many cited declining purchasing power, the crisis in the euro zone or rising unemployment.

Photo credit: Marine Le Pen’s party, the National Front, earned a stark victory in European Parliament elections. (European Pressphoto Agency/NYTimes)

Iran’s Whistle Blower Arrested

Abbas Palizdar delivering his now-famous speech in Hamedan

Fars News Agency Photo

Abbas Palizdar, Secretary of Majlis Investigative Commission, who has leveled major allegations of corruption against Iran’s religious establishment, was arrested in Tehran today. Palizdar was charged with propagating lies and disturbing public opinion and was sent to prison [Fars News Agency, 11 June].

In a recent speech in Hamadan, Palizdar had outlined specific charges of corruption against the most senior ayatollahs, including Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran’s powerful former president and chairman of Expediency Council, Abbas Vaez Yazdi, head of a vast religious landholding and business empire in Mashhad and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, head of National Trust party. Palizdar has also named some prominent non-clerics.

Palizdar claimed that national resources were plundered by these individuals, and factories sold off at bargain prices. He has leveled specific charges such as the import of thousands of Daewoo automobiles into Iran by Rafsanjani and his immediate family without paying the huge customs duties.

The people named by Palizdar are all considered political opponents of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the current president. It was not known if Palizdar’s charges were politically motivated. Sources close to Ahmadinejad, however, have said the administration was in no way involved with Palizdar.

Palizdar’s sensational accusations that prominent members of the Islamic Republic establishment are accumulating immense wealth comes at a time that rising food and housing prices have angered the population and made their lives difficult. The accusations will add to public cynicism and disillusionment about the country’s leadership and the future of the country.

The Views of Iranians

In a poll conducted in June 2007, the Iranians were asked about their views on the economy, the nuclear program and their political system. An overwhelming majority regard the creation of new jobs as the top priority. A majority favors a nuclear Iran, but 80% of Iranians are ready to stop nuclear weapon programs if Iran gets international trade and investment necessary to create new jobs. Jobs are more important than the bomb.

An overwhelming majority of Iranians favor a republic where all the leaders are freely and directly elected by the people. They oppose the current political system and they oppose the return of monarchy to Iran.

The poll was conducted for Terror Free Tomorrow, by telephone from 5 June to 18 June, 2007, with 1,000 interviews proportionally distributed according to the population covering all 30 provinces of Iran (www.TerrorFreeTomorrow.org).

On Economy
75% of Iranians think the present economic situation is fair to poor. A minority of 25%, however, feels they are benefiting from the government policies and the economy is going in the right direction.

Do you think the economy in Iran today is going in the right direction?
No: 42%
Yes: 27%
Don't Know: 19%
Neither: 11%

In terms of your own personal economic situation, do you think your financial situation today is better, the same, or worse than it was when President Ahmadinejad took office?
The same: 44%
Worse: 31%
Better: 24%

Would you say President Aahmadinejad’s policies have or have not succeeded in reducing unemployment and inflation?
Have not: 52%
Have: 33%

Do you feel that President Ahmadinejad has kept his campaign promise to “put oil money on the table of the people themselves?”
No: 56%
Yes: 22%


On Nuclear Program
Two-thirds of Iranians strongly favor the development of peaceful nuclear technology. The public opinion is divided on developing nuclear weapons. A majority favors having the bomb and feels safer with the bomb. But 80% are ready to stop any nuclear weapon programs if in return Iran could get foreign trade and capital investment creating more jobs in the country. The Iranians are saying that jobs are more important than the bomb.

Do you favor or oppose the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran developing nuclear energy?
Strongly favor: 78%
Somewhat favor: 14%
Oppose: 5%

Apart from nuclear energy, do you favor or oppose the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran developing nuclear weapons?
Strongly oppose: 37%
Strongly favor: 33%
Somewhat favor: 19%
Somewhat oppose: 5%

If the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran had nuclear weapons, do you think that the people of Iran would live in a safer or more dangerous world?
Safer: 52%
More dangerous: 31%

Would you support or oppose Iran receiving [international] assistance in return for Iran guaranteeing not to develop nuclear weapons?
Support: 80%
Oppose: 15%


On Politics:
The Iranians oppose the present political system where the Supreme Leader is not chosen by a direct vote of the people. They favor a republic where leaders are freely and directly elected.

Do you support or oppose a political system where the ‘Supreme Leader’ rules according to religious principles, and cannot be chosen or replaced by a direct vote of the people?
Strongly oppose: 53%
Strongly favor: 17%
Somewhat favor: 10%
Somewhat oppose: 8%

Do you support or oppose a political system where the ‘Supreme Leader’, along with all other leaders, can be chosen and replaced by a free and direct vote of the people?
Strongly support: 72%
Strongly oppose: 11%
Somewhat support: 7%
Somewhat oppose: 3%

Do you support or oppose a political system where there is a monarch who is not elected by the people, rules for life, and his family inherits the right to rule?
Strongly oppose: 75%
Strongly support: 6%
Somewhat oppose: 6%
Somewhat support: 4%