Political Weathercock of Western Europe Faces Right

Political tide of Western Europe is recently facing `Right` from 21st century. With the forecast that Portuguese moderate right winger Social Democratic Party will win the general election on the 17th, the political map of western Europe, where leftist government thrived in late 1990s, is changing that the territory of right wingers is being extended. Along with the appearance of conservative government of George W Bush in America, western advanced countries are confronting the current of conservatism.

▽ Rattling wind of conservatism in western Europe = When U.S. President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair launched Progressive Summits Talk in 1997, the meeting of left-centered governmental leaders in the world, 11 countries out of 15 members of EU had leftist governments.

But regimes of 5 countries including Austria, Spain, Italy, Norway and Denmark were turned over to right-wingers from leftists. The strongholds of leftists in Germany, France, Netherlands and Sweden are threatened, where presidential and public elections will be held.

▽ Why conservatives = First of all, it is `political cycle`.

As leftists seized power in Western Europe in late 1990s, conservatives are coming forward in 2000s. French Le Monde once wrote that `as European leftists groped for new progression after the collapse of Soviet structure, this time right wingers are seeking new values after cold war and Thatcherism`.

With new economy expanding, more favorable are the conservatives, who prefer progression to welfare. Almost all turnovers to conservatives from leftists are due to leftist`s failure of economic policy.

However, there comes a negative prospect that conflicts of national interest will be created as conservatives getting opportunity in western advanced countries along with America take national interest oriented diplomatic policy.

Jei-Gyoon Park phark@donga.com