Nazi Germany wasn't built in a day

I saw Nick Griffin, leader of the BNP on the telly this morning; his party has just gained two seats in the European Parliament (this alongside gains for the Tories and UKIP, which points to only one direction!). It was pointed out by the interviewer, who could barely conceal his contempt, that these gains were a long way from translating to gains in a General Election. Griffin shrugged this off by saying 'Rome wasn't built in a day'. I suddenly imagined a hilarious situation where either Griffin made a Freudian slip and said Nazi Germany wasn't built in a day, or the interviewer replied with 'neither was Nazi Germany'; either would please me.

What strikes me about this interview was the contempt shown for the BNP. Not that I don't think contempt should be levelled at them. I think they are narrow-minded, racist, contemptible thugs and it doesn't matter how many suits you buy for them, they still look like Jonny Adair awaiting trial. My problem is that the contempt for them is also born out of a feeling that they are only a marginal bunch of thugs, who we don't need to take seriously. It's this sort of complacency in politics that has allowed them to progress over the last few years.

Whilst our established parties have cracked open the Champers, continually patted themselves on the back for a job well done and put the rest down under expenses, parties like the BNP have picked up the votes of people who feel alienated from these self congratulatory parties. With the promise of action on populist policies they say the things that people want to hear.

This is why, as our government seemingly ignores the people and then disintegrates, parties like the BNP pick up the pieces. This has happened before. In Europe, the period after the First World War was dominated by weak democracies being overtaken by single-minded and populist dictatorships - Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Greece all succumbed to dictatorship after their elected democracies floundered and failed.

Of course, the situation was different in 1918. Europe had been ravaged by the Great War. Many millions of men were killed, infrastructures destroyed and there was always the spectre of another war. Added to this was the emerging fear of communism, leading monarchs to endorse parties and personalities to the Right.

Circumstances today aren't nearly as extreme as they were at the beginning of the 20th Century. However, they are there as an example of what can happen when democracy is weak. Our democracy today isn't weak because of the global situation, it's weak because it is arrogant, aloof and unaccountable. When this is the case, people look to other sources to vent their frustrations and to look for guidance. The BNP offers a brash and unashamed voice to people who are angry and disenfranchised. They may be a long way off power, but Nazi Germany wasn't built in a day.