Good evening, Europe. A new era has dawned. After 30 years of disconnected politics and media, living in a self-satisfied bubble, Europe's elites received a slap in the face yesterday in the European Parliament elections. From Germany to France, from Belgium to Italy, masses of Europeans left their homes. They announced a new revolution in Europe: no more immigration and global warming debates, but politicians who first and foremost take care of the livelihood of their residents.
If the politicians who control Europe today, and if the journalists who control the media today, would open their ears and eyes, they would not be surprised at all. As a strategic consultant who works with heads of state, I have been identifying the trend for years: a return to nationalism, a focus on the economy, and the tradition of statehood, not extreme progressivism.
Europeans today see their beloved continent changing. They are flooded with millions of immigrants. Some of these immigrants are good, hardworking, and dedicated people. Some are perpetrators of crime and potential future terrorists. Europeans feel insecure in their own countries. They think that their traditions are changing and that their religion is becoming illegitimate. Instead of understanding their feelings, their concerns are dismissed. They are called racists.
The media has delegitimized nationalism
They see their jobs in danger because of new technologies and robots. And their leaders, instead of addressing people's real problems, are busy with issues that seem irrelevant to them. Global warming may or may not be accurate, but the average person feels that engaging in this debate is disconnected from their problems and mostly ineffective. European leaders fly from conference to conference to discuss global warming. At the same time, masses of the unemployed roam Spain and Italy, looking for stable jobs that will allow them to raise a family.
The seventh of October was the last blow rousing Europe's right. They don't want a massacre in their house like in Israel. They saw crowds of jihadist men murdering, robbing, and raping their neighbors. They understand that a day will come when what Gaza did to Israel, Molenbeek, can do to Brussels.
It can happen anywhere in Europe. Instead of Muslim communities in Europe condemning the act, being shocked, they support it. Hamas supporters are marching in every European capital. People understand that there are genocidal enthusiasts among them, and they have decided to resist.
The European left is dead. It is disconnected. The Conservative government in England will fall, and the right to the right of the Conservatives will grow stronger. What happened in the Netherlands and Italy will occur in England and France. This is not the extreme right; this is the new reality. The new right is based on three principles.
First, Europe is not to blame for the situation in Africa. People in the West have no reason to feel guilty. They don't have to pay the price for other continents' wars. Only a small amount of immigration should be allowed for people who want to integrate, not for people who wish to establish an Islamic caliphate in Paris.
Second: dealing with real problems. Not gender issues, not global warming. Real people's problems: jobs, employment stability.
Third: nationality. In recent decades, the media has delegitimized nationalism. As if someone who feels that he is first a Frenchman, then a man of the world, is defective. No. The nation is a community, family, and belonging. Whoever speaks proudly of his country, with love, will succeed.
There is nothing to fear from the new era. It will bring economic prosperity, brave leadership, and civil security. City streets will be safer. There will be jobs. There will be real solutions to real problems. No disconnection.
Srulik Einhorn is the founder of www.perception.media, a strategic adviser, and a creative director to world leaders.