{"id":18895,"date":"2014-05-22T05:45:01","date_gmt":"2014-05-22T09:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=18895"},"modified":"2014-05-21T21:41:16","modified_gmt":"2014-05-22T01:41:16","slug":"putin-as-conservative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/05\/putin-as-conservative\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin as conservative?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The word \u201cconservative\u201d means different things in the United States and Europe.\u00a0 American conservatives tend to value personal liberty, free market economics, and small government.\u00a0 Europeans call that<\/em> being \u201cliberal.\u201d\u00a0 European conservatives tend to hearken back to the good old days of the monarchies, being suspicious of democracy and civil liberties.\u00a0 Both the European left and the European right favor big government.<\/p>\n

Today the European right, which is reportedly poised for big electoral victories, is openly supporting Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin.\u00a0 See why after the jump.<\/p>\n

From Griff Witte, Putin could be a winner in European parliamentary vote if far right gains ground \u2013 The Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

When voters across Europe go to the polls this week to elect a new Parliament, far-right parties are expected to be among the winners. But one of the election\u2019s biggest beneficiaries could be a man whose name isn\u2019t on the ballot: Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

Even as mainstream European leaders sputter their condemnation of Russian aggression, voters appear poised to reward parties that make no secret of their fawning admiration for the way the Russian leader has defied the West and dismembered Ukraine.<\/p>\n

It said the decision was aimed at keeping the country stable after six months of sometimes violent political unrest. It denied a coup d\u2019etat was underway.<\/p>\n

The result could deliver a fresh blow to a foundering European effort to take a tough and united line against Russia. For months, European leaders have dithered over how and when to escalate sanctions against Moscow. Some of the continent\u2019s heaviest hitters have argued for restraint as the best way to influence Russian behavior and as offering the best chance to preserve the extensive economic ties between Russia and Europe.<\/p>\n

But many of the far-right parties \u2014 as well as a smaller number on the far left \u2014 have openly cheered Russia\u2019s moves in Ukraine, accusing the European Union and the United States of provoking a crisis on a continent long accustomed to peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe far right and the far left like the fact that Putin is angering the European mainstream,\u201d said Simon Hix, an expert on European politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. \u201cAnd they like the fact that this whole situation illustrates the hypocrisy of the established elite, which had been sucking up to Putin, then said they were going to get tough on him, but they\u2019re not.\u201d . . .<\/p>\n

While Europe\u2019s far-right parties differ in many respects, they share a desire to weaken the influence of the Brussels-based E.U. and \u201cto pursue a similarly nationalist and authoritarian line\u201d to that embraced by Putin, said Hajo Funke, a German political analyst and expert on right-wing extremism.<\/p>\n

Indeed, in many respects, Putin is an ideological soul mate. He rails against Western decadence and liberalism and speaks in favor of an orthodox and conservative nationalism that rejects gay rights and commands adherence to traditional values.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe far-right parties see Europe as being in decline because of cosmopolitanism and pro-Americanism,\u201d said Peter Kreko, director of the Hungary-based research and consulting firm Political Capital<\/a>. \u201cPutin offers an alternative model \u2014 a leader who openly says he supports Christian views, who doesn\u2019t think human rights are so important and who believes in a strong hand.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Could you see any factions of American conservatives jumping on the Putin bandwagon?<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The word \u201cconservative\u201d means different things in the United States and Europe.\u00a0 American conservatives tend to value personal liberty, free market economics, and small government.\u00a0 Europeans call that being \u201cliberal.\u201d\u00a0 European conservatives tend to hearken back to the good old days of the monarchies, being suspicious of democracy and civil liberties.\u00a0 Both the European left […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,36],"tags":[561,780,1939,2320],"class_list":["post-18895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-philosophy-2","category-politics","tag-conservatism","tag-europe","tag-russia","tag-vladimir-putin"],"yoast_head":"\nPutin as conservative?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The word "conservative" means different things in the United 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