Trends

It seems to me that nobody in the MSM has pointed out the clear shift to the right throughout the West in recent months.  France (Sarkozy), Italy (Berlusconi), Austria, and now Canada.  Australia’s a bit of an outlier, but the new leftist government has proven centrist, a clear recognition that the Australian electorate was just tired of Howard and wanted to play with a new kid.  I think the repeated failure of referenda on Europe is part of this trend.

A lot of this has to do with a slow, reluctant recognition of the threat of radical Islam, in the form of immigration and excessive toleration of anti-democratic Muslim leaders.

Is it a harbinger for our own future, in this election or future ones?  I don’t know;  as usual a lot depends on events (especially in Russia and the Middle East), and on the quality of leadership.  We’re facing four years of bad to mediocre leadership, and I don’t see the sort of charismatic Western leader anywhere who can catalyze a strong, coherent fight for the victory of our values that we will eventually have to wage.  Perhaps Sarah Palin will prove to be that leader;  she certainly has at least some of the qualities, and a lot of the convictions, we will need.

However, I do think that the Western trend is helpful to the next American president, because he’s going to try to be more “multilateral,” and the new European leaders will not be as inclined as their predecessors to convince America to join a suicide cult.