Mainstream political journalists in Britain are these days committed to Gothic journalism. Usually themselves of vague liberalish or centrist persuasion, they fixate on the far right and the doings of Trump in the US, Farage and Reform UK in Britain and assorted far right parties in Europe. While fascinated and attracted by the conspiracy theories and sheer nuttiness of the ‘alt’-right, they are simultaneously appalled and repelled by it.
Their one-dimensional reporting had less to say about this year’s elections to the parliaments of the autonomous communities of Galicia in February and the Basque Country last weekend. These showed that despite the desires and nightmares of the ‘mainstream’ media there is an alternative to the far right. In the Basque Country the Spanish far-right Vox party won a less than spectacular 1.9% of the vote and just one of the 75 seats in the Basque Parliament. Similarly, in Galicia Vox got 2.3% and no seat.
In both regions the big winners were the autonomist socialist parties. In the Basque Country Euskal Herria Bildu (EH Bildu) won 32% of the votes and gained six seats to come level for the first time with the centrist Basque National Party, part of ruling coalitions for most of the past 40 years. In Galicia the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) won a record 31% of the votes, a gain of almost 8%, to become the second party in the Galician parliament.
Both parties owed their success to a re-focus on housing, health and employment issues, linking these to their traditional demand for more autonomy and downplaying independence for their regions. Are there any lessons here for any existing or potential Cornish autonomous party? The key issues in Cornwall seem to be the housing crisis, second homes, over-tourism, resentment at gentrification and concerns over the ongoing destruction of the welfare state by Tory and Labour parties. These issues might easily be tied to demands for greater devolution as dependence on Westminster is clearly making them worse.
Meanwhile, Cornwall’s traditional voice of autonomist politics – MK – gives the impression of having apparently reverted to being a pressure group mainly lobbying on behalf of the revived Cornish language. But can it also give a voice to growing resentment over the way the housing market disempowers locals while transforming Cornwall through gentrification? If it’s unable to step up to the task, maybe a more energetic, yet-to-exist radical flank is required to do the job.