Do not look after the rights

Oscar Freysinger, the big shot of Lower Valais and Swiss politics, has already come a long way, even on Russian television. He recently gave an interview to the state-affiliated broadcaster Pro Russia on the ousting of the government in Ukraine: "Two out of three people involved in this coup are Nazis or fascists." Freysinger, who has also appeared in front of right-wing extremist audiences, criticizes the fact that right-wing extremists are in the Ukrainian government. Shouldn't he actually be supporting them? The opportunist politician wants to get even closer to the EU, which is why he rails against "the big politicians of the EU" who make "big speeches about democracy on the main square in Kiev".

However, although Freysinger is exaggerating, he is basically right. It is gradually dawning on the German-language media that the new Ukrainian government may be aligned with Europe and the European Union, but two members of the transitional government (Right Sector and Svoboda) represent extreme right-wing positions. The "Right Sector" is a conglomerate of racist to openly neo-Nazi groups that have increasingly been acting as vigilantes or free corps since the change of government. And in December 2012, the EU Parliament was still concerned about Svoboda's election success, stating that it was an expression of a "growing nationalist mood in Ukraine" and that "racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic views" were at odds with the EU's fundamental values. This is now irrelevant, as European politicians see an opportunity to detach Ukraine from Russia's sphere of influence.

The populist Freysinger, on the other hand, is once again exploiting a gap in the media. In the days of the Ukrainian government coup, the Swiss media ignored the presence of right-wing extremists on the Maidan. The first reports that right-wing extremists were also active among the demonstrators and revolters were followed by a reference to Russian propaganda. (Which it was.) But even from a distance, the interested observer could see signs. A Swiss television news report was revealing: the announcer reported on "radical nationalists" among the demonstrators, and the film showed a group of men marching behind a Celtic flag. This is seen as a sign of the supremacy of the white race and is often used by neo-fascist groups. This is not the first time that Swiss television journalists have failed to recognize the political message of a flag. Media representatives also had to explain the meaning of Freysinger's imperial war flag ("popular with right-wing extremists today") to the people from Leutschenbach after the broadcast.

For years, Swiss media professionals have shown a remarkable unwillingness to clearly name parties or politicians to the right of the bourgeois right, whether as radical right, right-wing radicals, neo-Nazis, fascists or right-wing extremists. They take refuge in empty phrases, especially the popular "ultra-nationalist". The NZZ, for example, wrote in recent months about "Serbia's election winner Aleksandar Vucic", who "only six years ago was the anti-Western ultra-nationalist with Greater Serbian ideas". He belonged to the party of Vojislav Seselj, "a warmonger of the worst kind" (NZZ). And another time, the NZZ mused about the "influence of ultra-nationalists" who would further restrict "Netanyahu's ability to compromise with the Palestinians". And in May 2013, the paper from Falkenplatz reported that the "ultra-nationalists" of "Ataka" were present in the Bulgarian parliament alongside two major parties and representatives of the Turkish minority. Ataka, however, is committed to marginalizing the Turkish minority and Muslims in Bulgaria. According to the NZZ, the Ukrainian "Right Sector" is also "ultra-nationalist". But so far, there is no ultranationalist party, neither a program nor an ideology nor a definition derived from a scientist. Just media and politician chatter. Not even Wikipedia knows what to do and directs searchers straight to the term "right-wing extremism".

Hans Stutz lives in Lucerne and works as a journalist specializing in racism and right-wing extremism.