Point of pride: Irish far right is insignificant.

[Gadjodilo]

First we had the large influx of workers from many different countries. Then, we had this god-awful economic crisis which has pushed unemployment into double digits. This, combined with a electoral system that makes a virtue of ensuring parliamentary representation for small parties surely made it a perfect recipe for a surge in far right support.

Yet, it didn't happen and shows no sign of happening. So, while support for extreme right parties surges across Europe, Irish people sensibly eschew this end of the politicial spectrum. Why is this? Are we just more tolerant?

[ibis]

Just lazy.

[slx]

I honestly think we are a bit more tolerant than quite a lot of Europe. Irish politics also doesn't have a history of being polarised along the lines of right-left.

Also, our sense of national identity tends to be based around Republican ideals and separatism from the UK, rather than on ethnic identity / racial lines as it can be in other European countries. Parties like Sinn Fein are left leaning and are certainly not xenophobic, they just oppose British rule in Ireland.

I just think Ireland has a bigger, more positive sense of 'self' than just narrowly defined ethnic identity.

If anything, it looks like in our current economic mess we're leaning towards the left / centre left and away from neoliberalism i.e. there's a surge for Labour.

[CookieMonster]

do we even have an extreme/far right in Ireland?

[Lucan Lefty]

do we even have an extreme/far right in Ireland?

A small section see todays Sunday World.

I honestly think that we really do not give a flying one if your black, white, green, orange, pink if your just fine and not a pig.

[Sean O'Brian]

If your core issues are opposing EU centralisation and immigration restrictionism, there is no one to vote for.

[TradCat]

If your core issues are opposing EU centralisation and immigration restrictionism, there is no one to vote for.

A few have run on the anti-immigrant platform. We had one in my constituency and he got a derisory vote.

[Northsideman]

First we had the large influx of workers from many different countries. Then, we had this god-awful economic crisis which has pushed unemployment into double digits. This, combined with a electoral system that makes a virtue of ensuring parliamentary representation for small parties surely made it a perfect recipe for a surge in far right support.

Yet, it didn't happen and shows no sign of happening. So, while support for extreme right parties surges across Europe, Irish people sensibly eschew this end of the politicial spectrum. Why is this? Are we just more tolerant?

We have fought oppression for 600 years, the Penal Laws and Cromwell are ingrained in our conscious and subconscious minds, we as a nation are not idiots. We are fair minded and don't and won't accept Nazis.

[Oreo Livermore]

Ireland would rather get screwed it seems. What fun awaits

[former wesleyan]

Irish isolationism throughout the '30's and '40's meant that left/right politics never took hold and right of centre catholic nationalism was the norm.