Resurgent nationalism

We are told it's about racist and ethno-nationalist reaction to mass immigration from outside Europe and the lesser migrations of Europeans among the nations of the EU.

The ethno-nationalist right believe they can do a better job maintaining national identity - and that's not just about keeping out the blacks - outside the EU than in.

That's a big part of it.

And they are probably right.

We are told that, in most European countries where nationalism is resurgent, it's about the right believing they can keep economies more business-friendly out of the EU than in it.

That's part of it.

But it's all a bit dicey, since some of the left notably think exactly the opposite, that they could take their societies further left outside the EU than in.

And anyway the whole trade picture makes it all a bit foggy; broadly speaking, free trade among the states of the EU is better for business than dealing with a lot of real borders and the various forms of trade restrictions that accompany them.

Last, a really big part of it that seems under-reported is resistance to the cultural revolution taking place in all Christian and post-Christian lands, perhaps only excepting Africa.

The soft spot in the heart of the American right for Putin is all about that.

So it's about abortion, yes, but also gay marriage and other offences against the traditional European morality, which is, of course, the traditional Christian morality.

It's about lots of people believing that they can keep their laws and their culture more in tune with traditional European morality out of the EU than in it.

And how far that is true may vary considerably by country.

PS. Didn't the left media used to rage it was all about Islamophobia?

There was truth to that, too, though it's not as though there wasn't plenty of reason to fear Islam.

Haven't heard much about that in a while, at least in the US.