No complacency

Across Europe, the far-right is resurgent. Parties such as the AfD in Germany, Vox in Spain and the Freedom Party in Austria are winning votes and, in some cases, a share of power.

A pre-requisite of their electoral success is a far more sophisticated approach to voters than their ideological forebears adopted a generation ago.

Out have gone the skinheads and hob nailed boots. In have come sharp suits and a smooth demeanour.

In France, Marine Le Pen comes across as a far more mainstream figure than her father, Jean-Marie; his granddaughter Marion Maréchal has dropped the Le Pen from her name.

She is adept at playing the role of a mainstream politician. But beneath the façade of all these parties and politicians lies the same far right ideology.

In that context, this month’s evisceration of the Austrian Freedom Party’s attempt to obscure its Nazi past is telling.

The “commission” it set up, ostensibly to investigate those roots, was a “phantom”. In reality it was designed to deceive.

It is worrying that some are indeed deceived by these parties. It is also a reminder that no one who shares the values of liberal democracy can ever be complacent.

A phenomenon

British Jews rarely blow our own trumpet. But in Mitzvah Day we have an institution that lights up the world. From its origins as an idea in the mind of Laura Marks, in 15 years it has become a global phenomenon.

This week’s awards ceremony was an inspiring celebration of the many projects undertaken. Here’s to this year’s, on November 15!