I fear Britain is importing the Barmy Right
And it won't end well for anybody
When I first heard the term ‘The Woke Right’ in an article about Romanian politics, I immediately assumed it was going to be about the watered down centrist dad managed decline of the last two decades where hoody hugging and huskie harranguing became emblematic of the Cameroonian Noughties. A strange squidgy form of right wingery that failed to allow any sensible, nation state prioritising pragmatism to be converted into policy. The new soft underbelly of sensible Thatcherism that somehow became all Kumbaya Globalism. EU this, summit that. War on Terror. Climate change. Good versus evil. Everything rendered down to infantile binaries that rarely reflected reality. Where being nice was the vibe, and beat being right.
But then when I dug deeper, I found out the term was being used for a Rasputin like character standing to be Romanian President. Călin Georgescu.
Banned from the Presidential race yesterday under allegations of Russian interference and described as an Ultra Nationalist, he represents something now sweeping across Europe.
But before we progress let me suggest I am raising one eyebrow at yet another Populist movement being denied access to a plebiscite, as it's now apparent this anti-democratic habit is being propagated by the established elites, and we mustn’t kid ourselves otherwise.
But back to Georgescu. Described by journalist Ann Appelbaum as harbouring Anti-Science Mysticism, the backlash against liberal Globalism in the form of right wing populism is starting to take on the tropes and affectations of the radical left.
Yes, he wants Romania First, pro-natalist policies, less state, less tax and a return to the good old days before the corporate cabal of Big Pharma, Big Food, Big Tech, Big Government, Big Brussels decided they knew best about everything. Before Davos. Great. We are here for all that. But he also believes carbonated drinks contain nanochips. Alright then…
In his drive to rid Romania of what now feel like the relics of the past in the form of the fin de siecle Globalist modus operandi, all of which I too rally against, he has ventured deep into the whacky side of revolution. From right wing to libertarian to howling with wolves from frozen lakes. Weird stuff.
The same weird stuff that is prone to nudging its head about the parapet every time RFK Jnr does a podcast. Don't get me wrong, I love the cut of his gib when it comes to unpacking the effects of Post Industrial society on health, from fast food to pharma to sitting on one’s ass doomscrolling and going down wormholes making The West fat and sad, but he does have a way of sounding like a gravelly voiced slightly brain damaged formerly drug addicted trustafarian with deep seated psychological scars. I guess he can't really be blamed for that. More’s the pity, he's everything I want to hear and campaign for, but to a factor of ten that I start to find too much of a strong tasting meat.
In my own bid to shake off the shackles of murky corporate world influence, who happily told us margarine was a health choice, I boil bones for broth and avoid ultra processed foods and limit my carb intake. I despise Big Food. I am also sceptical about the Covid vaccine and its untested nature before it was rolled out and how this has affected a significant number of people, with the entire scope of its potential harms still unknown.
But I don't believe it was all a big plot to forcibly inject us with poison. I don't go down the route of Bill Gates and his menacing microchips, nor do I really deep dive into cloud seeding, or buy into QAnons's Pizzagate conspiracy theories, however tantalising they may be. I will raise red flags about messing with milking cows to supposedly stop climate change though. Leave dairy alone!
But something is happening on the new right. They've gone from being the saviours we all needed, to being, well, as barmy as the radical left.
And it's threatening to mess up Britain.
Here's how.