International fears of a fascist revival followed Austria's announcement that Jorg Haider's Freedom Party would be joining the conservative coalition government of Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel. Demonstrations in major European cities followed the announcement in spite of the charismatic Haider's refusal of a Cabinet post for himself.

Even his subsequent resignation as leader one month later was only seen as a tactical move and could result in forcing an election that might give his party a boost and speed his way to leadership of this central European nation. Haider has previously shown some sympathy for those involved in the country's Nazi past, while accusations of xenophobia accompany the Freedom Party's stance on immigration and the European Union.

Is this the start of a fascist revival in Europe? Europeans have not forgotten that another charismatic Austrian almost 70 years ago led his political party to victory in neighboring Germany, heralding the birth of the Third Reich and plunging the world into the Second World War. Adolf Hitler was eventually defeated by the Western allies, but not before tens of millions of people died.

Three dominant ideologies of the 20th century all began in Europe. Fascism and communism (together with the more moderate socialism) followed the collapse of the centuries old established order that fell apart in the aftermath of World War I. The 1914-18 war was the single most defining moment of modern European history. The rival powers that went to war following the assassination of the Austrian heir to the throne inadvertently destroyed themselves. The age of monarchy seemed dead.

With the collapse of the old order new ideologies emerged. Communism had taken over in Russia, with attempts to establish communist governments elsewhere in Europe and fears of further revolutions to follow.

Whereas communism was a utopian ideal of world government where everything would be publicly owned, fascism emphasized the nation state and supported capitalism. Fascists glorified their own country, often accompanied with ideas of racial superiority. The individual did not count. Only the state, the national government, mattered, and all must submit to it. In order to succeed, fascism needed a charismatic leader.

Hitler and Mussolini were the two main fascist leaders in Europe. The Italian fascist slogan "to believe, to obey, to combat" was the antithesis of "liberty, equality and fraternity." The word fascism was first used by Italy's Benito Mussolini in 1919. It is derived from the Latin fasces, a bundle of rods with an ax in it. This symbolized the power of many united and obeying the one will of the national leader.

Fascists took their inspiration from the ancient world. Christianity with its emphasis on the individual was out. The ancient Greek city of Sparta was in. Discipline and devotion to duty were all that mattered. Complete coordination of all intellectual and political thought and activity was left to the state-to the supreme leader who would bring about the utopia that the people deserved and wanted. This was the essence of fascism.

Fascists were given a boost in the 1920s and 1930s by the severe economic problems that impacted Europe at that time. High unemployment in Germany following the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the Great Depression enabled Hitler to gain power. Even so, Germany's dictator only received a third of the votes. By agreeing to cooperate in a coalition government, he was eventually able to manipulate himself into supreme power. The coalition steppingstone to total power is not forgotten as the Freedom Party joins the coalition government that will rule Austria.

Fascism was not confined to Europe. Japan's military government that came to power in 1936 was fascist, with veneration of the emperor as the sun-god at its center. Fascists also came to power in South America and were very influential in South Africa. There were active fascist parties throughout the Western democracies, but democratic institutions were strong enough to withstand them. But it was in central and southern Europe that fascism was strongest over a period of 25 years beginning shortly after World War I. As late as 1942 fascism posed a very real threat to the Western democracies. The outcome of World War II was not a foregone conclusion.

Fascists remained in power in Europe after World War II, and retained total control of Spain and Portugal until the mid-1970s. There are still governments in power around the world whose ideology is fascist, but they no longer use the term in describing themselves. Fascism is unlikely to return under its old name as the movement was greatly discredited by the excesses of World War II.

But could it return to power under a new name?

The road to power

How and why did fascists gain power in the years that led to World War II? Wherever fascist movements have arisen, they have come to power as a result of national disillusionment and disappointment with the established political process. Democracies do not change quickly. The political process is often slow and rarely are needed reforms effective in solving problems. Fascism offers simple solutions to complex problems. One man rule sounds good. Let the leader have total power without the hindrance of a parliament or congress and what needs to be done will soon be done. Decrees issued at the top will soon solve all the problems.

It sounded good, but it didn't work out that way. The immediate post-World War II generation knew and understood that fascism had failed. Few were tempted to try it again. Western-style democracy brought prosperity and stability. Everybody seemed content.

But now new problems have arisen, problems created by the liberal Western values that replaced fascism. Meanwhile, a new generation has grown up that knows little about World War II. There is a general disillusionment in many Western nations with the democratic system. Politicians are not trusted and are often seen as corrupt.

A recent corruption scandal in Germany has ruined the reputation of one of the most respected German leaders of modern times, Helmut Kohl. Scandals elsewhere all revolve around abuses of power. It seems like the elite only take care of themselves while nothing much changes for the ordinary man on the street. As a result, some turn to extremist parties for the solutions to their problems.

Disillusioned with democracy

Fascism is a reaction to liberal values and their consequences. Post World War II democratic Europe has seen a major assault on traditional values. Family life has been negatively affected by liberal legislation that has encouraged the breakdown of the old family unit, while the streets are not as safe as they used to be.

People looking for simple solutions to complex problems often blame new arrivals for their social problems. They also fear being culturally swamped by these immigrants who have been arriving in Western Europe in increasing numbers following upheavals in the former Communist countries and many parts of the Third World. With an estimated one in eight Austrians now from foreign countries, there is a genuine fear of the nation being overwhelmed culturally, ethnically and racially.

Disillusionment with the cozy political arrangements of the older political parties, together with fears of a flood of immigrants, are two of the main factors that have brought the Freedom Party into government. A third factor has been Austria's fairly recent membership in the European Union. Full membership for the country only came in 1995, with some loss of sovereignty as the country moved toward closer integration with its European neighbors.

A further loss of independence is anticipated with the move toward the euro currency now in full swing. But the euro is not the issue that is causing concern. The biggest fear with EU membership comes from the likelihood of a rapid growth in the number of members of the EU with the collapse of the Communist bloc to the east. Those nations, all much poorer than Austria, seek membership in the EU. With that membership would come the free movement of people. The result would be millions more unwelcome guests arriving in Austria's cities.

Austria's concern can be understood from a historic perspective. In their minds they did not vote for fascism. Jorg Haider's party is a democratic party working within the democratic system. But its outspoken concerns over immigration, its xenophobia, are reminiscent of Hitler's anti-Semitic policies and his views of Aryan superiority-ideas formulated when he was a young man growing up in Austria. Too many memories of Austria's voluntary involvement in Hitler's Third Reich have been rekindled. Indeed, support for Hitler was proportionately greater in Austria than in Germany itself.

Disillusionment with the political status quo is not confined to Austria, nor is Austria the only European country with an extreme right wing political party. Small extremist parties litter the European political landscape, resulting in increasingly interesting general elections.

All Western European countries suffer from the same problem of too many immigrants. Europeans are much more sensitive to this than North Americans as their countries are generally overcrowded. At the same time, the nations of central Europe had no colonial empires with dark-skinned inhabitants, so they feel more threatened by the unfamiliar. Additionally, most EU member states have double-digit unemployment (Austria's is much lower at 4.4 percent). This results in increased resentment at the presence of foreigners who are seen as taking jobs away from nationals.

Recent political scandals in Germany involving donations to the Christian Democratic Union (conservative) have exposed corruption there at the highest level. Corruption is endemic in the member countries that border the Mediterranean. At the highest level of the European Union, the entire European Commission had to resign some months ago amidst evidence of corruption.

Disillusionment with the present political system is understandable. Corrupt politicians put the entire system at risk. What is often overlooked is that democracy is relatively new to the nations of central Europe. Modern Austria's political system is not even 50 years old yet. That makes it rather fragile. It has not stood the test of time. Faced with a major political or economic crisis, would the Austrian Republic survive? Would the 50-year-old Federal Republic of Germany? Or the present French Republic established as recently as 1958? The Italian Republic has had over 50 governments since 1946 when it came into being. A crisis could once again, as it did in the 1920s and 1930s, result in extremists coming to power.

When the first Austrian Republic ran into problems, confrontations with extremists led to a brief civil war in 1934. Four years later Austria became one with Germany in the Anschluss (union).

One leader can make a difference

The desire for simple solutions to complex problems is an understandable one. The world we live in is far too complicated for most people to even begin to fathom. At times it seems as if one man could make a big difference. But history shows that people should not put their faith in any human being. Power soon goes to the heads of those unrestrained by constitutional law. Democracy may look bad at times, but extremism has historically been far worse.

A time is coming, however, when one ruler will solve the problems of this world-one with the right system of government. The Bible shows us that Jesus Christ is returning to this earth to establish the government of God. The Kingdom of God will usher in the greatest time in history for mankind. A perfect, just and righteous government will replace all the kingdoms and republics of this world. You can read about this righteous and perfect government in Isaiah chapter 11.

Sadly, before that time there will be a brief period of extremist human government, prophesied in Revelation chapter 17. Ten kings will come together in a union of states. These leaders will then choose one single leader, the prophesied "beast," who will set up a system even more evil than anything that has gone before (verses 12 and 13). Extremism will return, but only for a very short period prior to the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. WNP