#sacrificem bravery

[eaglesnick]

“A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses": Colin Powell.

With this quotation in mind let us look at the company Nigel Farage keeps.

Close to home is his French girlfriend Laure Ferrari.

Ferrari, who Farage met in 2007, is a French politician who has worked for “several right-wing to far-right political organisations." She was head of the Institute for Direct Democracy in Europe, which was accused in 2017 of having illegally diverted public money to UKIP, the anti-European party of which Farage was a founding member.  She ran for the European Parliament as a candidate for the far-right  French party Debout la Republique.

Farrari is also a founding member of “The Mouvement" alongside Steve Bannerman. In Europe The Mouvement has attracted the attention of the right-wing Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungry. Orban has been condemned for his racist remarks, which were described as “pure Nazi text worthy of (Nazi propagandist) Goebbels.” (reported by CNN World:27/07/22)

Meanwhile in America, Steve Bannerman, at one time Donald Trump’s chief strategist, has been accused of being anti-Semitic, racist and making bigoted statements against women and Muslims. After a Unite The Right rally - led by   "white-supremacists, neo Nazis and alt-right atavists” - degenerated into violence Trump was forced to sack Bannerman. He was later jailed for contempt of Congress after refusing to provide information concerning Donald Trumps involvement in the US Capitol Riots and Trumps alleged attempts at overthrowing democracy.

Farage has described the convicted Trump as “a true friend" and as “the single most resilient and bravest person I have ever met in my life". Right-wing Trump has been  convicted on 34 separate felonies  after falsifying business accounts. On hearing the news Farage said he supports Donald Trump “more than ever."

Trump, as we know, is in turn a supporter of the right-wing dictator Vladimir Putin, a man who is sacrificing his fellow countrymen in an illegal war he started when he invaded Ukraine.  The Atlantic (01/03/24:

“Adoration of the Russian leader, who murders his domestic opponents, kidnaps thousands of Ukrainian children, and interferes in American presidential elections, is so hard to comprehend..." 

Some explain this friendship as part of Trumps desire to conclude business deals with Putin’s Russia. The Atlantic has an alternative, more convincing explanation:

 “there’s a deeper, more nefarious truth about people on the right’s baffling unwillingness to criticize the Kremlin: They actually share its worldview.”

Like Putin, Trump has vowed to imprison his political opponents:

“Trump defends Vow To Prosecute Rivals Saying ‘Sometimes Revenge Can Be Justified.’ “ (New York Times 07/07/24)

Farage's friend rump has a total disregard for democratic elections and has now been indicted on charges relating to the January 6th Capital Riots when he refused to accept the verdict of the American people in the US Presidential elections of 2020.

To make matter worse last month this statement was posted  on Trumps Instagram account:

“WHAT’S NEXT FOR AMERICA?....INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH SIGNIFICANTLY DRIVEN BY A UNIFIED REICH”

Such language and sentiment is a clear reference to fascism and the German dictator Adolf Hitler.

Talking of Adolf Hitler brings us back to Nigel Farage.

On the BBC Election debate last Friday night Nigel Farage, along with all of the other candidates, was rightly critical of Rishi Sunak for leaving the D-day Memorial Commemorations early. But in the case of Farage’s condemnation there  is a glaring irony.

The D-day Memorial Commemorations were held to honour and remember the bravery and sacrifice of the men who risked and gave their lives for freedom and peace. Tens of thousands of men landed on the beaches of Normandy as part of a campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied Northern Europe. Their heroic actions and sacrifices marked  the beginning  of the end for Adolf Hitler and his fascist followers. We owe our freedom of today to these selfless individuals.

Farage told the nation that Sunak leaving the D-Day commemorations early “says a lot about him”. I would agree. But the irony is Mr Farage, the company YOU keep, and the friends YOU choose says volumes about YOU. The men on the Normandy beaches died to rid Europe of a right-wing dictatorship. Your right-wing friends show as much respect for democracy and human decency as did past European dictators. To misquote the Bible:

“Beware of false profits, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but are inwardly ravenous wolves. You will know them by their friends". Matthew 7:15-16