America's tea break is over

DESPITE many commentators predicting that the Tea Party Movement had run its course yesterday's victory has reinvigorated the right wing group. 

Tea Party supporter Dave Brat's surprise victory over Washington power house Eric Cantor has provided a much needed boost for the flagging grass roots movement. 

Brat was quick to dismiss claims that he was actually a member of the Tea Party, claiming instead to believe in Republican values. 

He told America's Fox News: "I'm not holding anyone's feet to the fire but it wasn't a contest between the tea party and the Republicans and all this," he said. "Although I have tremendous tea party support and just wonderful people in the tea party and grassroots helping me out, and they're clearly responsible for the win... I ran on the Republican principles."

The defeat of Republican Majority Leader Cantor, who had been widely tipped to succeed John Boehner, has created uncertainty in beltway politics as officials on both sides of the divide fear it could harm the smooth running of government.

The Tea Party's proven track record of holding the nation to "hostage" on issues such as raising the debt ceiling has in the past led to concern that America could have been plunged into a further economic crisis. 

Unlike more moderate Republicans, such as Cantor, the Tea Party's unwillingness to compromise on key issues could make cross party agreement on key policies unlikely.

Speaking from the Richmond Hotel following news of his defeat Mr Cantor told supporters: "I know there's a lot of long faces here tonight. It's disappointing sure but I believe in this country. I believe there's opportunity around the next corner."

What that "opportunity" may be for the future of American politics is a question which many may now be asking. 

Brat's win against such a respected and powerful character as Cantor in a Republican safe seat despite being vastly outspent is being seen as a worrying sign that core Republicans are moving further towards the right wing of the party.

"The good news is dollars don't vote, people do," announced Mr Brat. "I've been a conservative my whole life," he added. "There's nothing hard right or far right about anything. I just believe in the ideas and that ideas matter in history."

Whatever the future holds for compromise on the hill one thing seems certain the tea break is over for the Republicans.

The rise of the right

AS EUROPE gears up for the May 22^nd European Elections the rise of right wing politics has become increasingly noticeable. This is not isolated to the European Union though.

In America the Tea Party Movement has made inroads into mainstream politics. The United Australia Party may not be seeing the gains of some right wing parties, however, it is starting to have an impact on the political establishment. Despite, or possibly because of, being led by a comedian Beppo Grillo’s Five Star Movement in Italy has surged forward, challenging the old guard of the Democratic Party and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia. Nowhere seems immune from the politics of fear these groups play upon.

It was only a few short years ago that groups such as the American Tea Party Movement, a group which United Kingdom Independence Leader, Nigel Farage, has revelled in being compared to, were seen as fringe and dismissible. In the current political environment they are starting to pose a problem for the main political parties.

In America and Britain it seems unlikely that the establishment could be overturned by these groups. In 2015 UKIP may gain a couple of seats, this would be a far cry from the number they would need to put them in a position of serious power though. The threat they pose is by splitting the vote of the more moderate parties and diverting the debate away from areas where it needs to be focused.

For countries such as Italy and Germany, where coalition governments are more frequent than in the US and Britain, these parties can have a genuine influence on the way the country is run. For groups such as Tea Party or UKIP, however, they are fighting against an entrenched establishment where it is a near certainty that one of two parties will be in power.

This has not stopped them from shouting their causes from the rooftops, however. It is perhaps even more of incentive to create ever more outrageous and right wing agendas for these groups than ones which know they may have a chance of power, and therefore would have to meet their manifesto pledges.

UKIP has claimed that they will fight back against unlimited immigration from the European Union, while failing to address how they will do this, or exactly how far reaching the levels of immigration will be. In its EU election manifesto for example UKIP claims that the Office of National Statistics estimates from 2010 that the UK population will rise by 3 million by 2020 through immigration. The ONS actually forecasts a growth of 4.9million, of which 56 per cent would be from ‘natural increase’.

Additional figures provided by UKIP also fail to take into account the rate of emigration from Britain by naturalised citizens. The same story is repeated in America with the Tea Party Movement. Statistics are taken out of context, or fabricated. Both groups use volume and self proclaimed righteous anger ahead of genuine debate and solution.

In part this rise of the right wing has come about from the groups themselves. An increase in communications technology has made it easier for them to reach the electorate, and by repeating the same phrases enough they have instilled them into the minds of people as fact.

An increasing level of fear and disillusionment in the system has given them the crack to force themselves into. Membership of the more mainstream political parties has diminished over the years, with approximately only 1 per cent of the UK belonging to a party,  as people lose faith in the process. Fear of terrorism and crime is also on the increase, which gives certain right wing elements the fuel they need to feed the fire of xenophobic attitudes.

On May 22^nd the British electorate, and others across Europe, will have their say for who represents them in the European Union. For right wing groups the world over it will be seen as a test of whether volume and propaganda has swayed the people over debate and solutions.