Why Is Racism the Biggest Debate in the European Elections?

by Guest Thu May 22, 2014 7:34 pm

The title of a work of art by Tracy Emin which I saw at the Tate the other week got my attention: Hate and Power can be a terrible thing.
This evocative title sums up the current debate in the electoral campaign for European elections in the UK. Candidates are fighting for power by employing hate.
Unsurprisingly Farage and his UKIP party have been setting the trend in this debate. He has gained extraordinary powers over the public space by instigating divisiveness and hate. He has been very receptive to popular concerns reported by the media. He tactfully turned them into his own discourse as he knew he would strike a chord with the masses. His comments are intended to provoke. He attacks; media react. It is a vicious circle. This way he assures his grinning face is published alongside his comments on the next day's first pages. After all his director of communications is the former political editor of the Daily Express so he knows what it takes to make the headlines: one needs to be controversial.
There is no interview or public speech where Farage does not make a controversial statement. He loves the spotlight and he does not mind by what means he gets it. He seems to like to be witch-hunted, to be called racist or xenophone. These bring him more prime-time TV and radio and more newspaper covers. After all he admitted: 'To do what I've done in this job, I think you have to lack self-awareness'. His never-ending controversies ensured that no other party and party leader got more attention from the media, their fellow politicians and social media users for the last fifteen months. It looked like when Farage was singing, everyone was dancing to his tune. Astonishing power of public manipulation!
As I said in my recent interview on Channel 4 Farage is a one-issue man and Ukip is a one-issue party. That issue has been immigration for the last fifteen months. He revealed his communications tactics yesterday morning in his interview on Radio 4: 'Sometimes you need to wait to have the right ideas with the time.' Since the beginning of January 2013 immigration has become people's main concern due to media's and politicians' obsession with the issue. UKIP knew how to play this card. Their party manifesto gravitates around immigration. The economy is not working, they blame it on immigrants. The crime is up, they blame it on immigrants. There is a housing crisis, they blame it on immigrants. There is a job shortage, they blame it on immigrants. Whatever the issue is, for Ukip the answer is immigrants.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/oana-romocea/european-elections_b_5368502.html?utm_hp_ref=ukip