Traduzione dell'intervista ad Alexander Markovics di Pegida

Pegida’s young avant-garde speaks up: “We want a nationalist Europe that preserves our ethnocultural identity. By 2050, Europeans will be a minority.” The young, blonde Alexander Markovics is a picture of calm – a stark contrast to the media image of a rightwing extremist in Italy, where the press paints him and other activists of Pegida, an Islamcritical movement born in Germany, as dangerous radicals. He is in Milan for a rightofcentre conference of EU critics who refer to themselves as “identitarians”. Alexander is not only an activist with Pegida, where he has participated in a number of demonstrations, but also the president of Generation Identity, a movement closely connected with Pegida and considered to be its youth wing. He shares a focus on many current themes with German Islam critics, from mass immigration to societal islamization, as Alex explains."

What is Pegida fighting for?

"It is fighting for a stop to uncontrolled mass immigration to Germany; for more robust laws against Islamists, and more security. Many regions of Germany have fallen completely under the control of criminal gangs or radical Islamist cells. In Berlin, for example, districts such as Neukölln, locally known as Little Istanbul, are facing a total loss of government authority. The districts deal with the risk of Salafistled radicalization – once they are already controlled by these criminal groups – by imposing Salafist laws. Law enforcement is not functioning properly. People are protesting against this insecurity."

Is really Pegida a rightwing movement connected to Neonazis, as many claim?

"Pegida is not linked to Neonazis or any extreme rightwing party. Its core is constituted by the middle class, mainly the cultured bourgeoisie, which means they have nothing to do with extremist ideology. Germans nonetheless take part in these demonstrations quite persistently, as they do not feel represented by their politicians anymore. The country is facing certain problems: mass immigration, Islamization, and demographic collapse. Many journalists had tried to infiltrate our demonstrations to pin racist statements on us, demonize us, and make us into the new Neonazis. As this came to light, the talk turned to “Lügenpresse”, the so called “lying press”, a concept that’s since played a growing role in the movement."

What is the Identitarian Movement?

"We are a youth movement dedicated to safeguarding our ethnic and cultural identity. Mass immigration and islamization are only symptoms of a wider process: the substitution of the European population with MiddleEastern and African peoples. This substitution is driven by two key factors: the first economic, steered by liberal capitalism, bent on securing cheap labour, and the second political, represented by hegemonic multiculturalism. In 50 or 100 years, there will not be any more indigenous Europeans as we know them. In 2050, Austrians will be just one minority among many in their own country. The Austrian borders will be left unguarded."

Isn't European identity itself defined by pluralism and tolerance?

"When people talk about multiculturalism, they usually demonstrate it with little hand puppets, all identical, but in different colors. They want us to turn into so many “smarties people”; turn Europe into Disneyland. Europe is getting ever closer to the US, assimilating with it and its meltingpot mentality. We just want to preserve our diversity: One of our slogans in the Generation Identity movement is “100%, 0% racism.” The only real racism in Europe is that of the politicians against European natives. On one side stand popular movements, on the other friends of the EU."

What is your opinion about Europe’s responsibility?

"European Unity could be a positive chance – if only it were to work efficiently in practice. The last 20 years saw nothing but catastrophes, exemplified by Greece, its unemployment, and the current state of its economy. The Western European states are influenced by America and its foreign politics: their relationship is based on a power imbalance like that between lord and vassal. The EU relies too heavily on the US, depends on them. This situation leads to dangerous consequences, as can be seen with the Ukraine crisis."

What do you mean?

"While the US stirred up discord and hatred between Russians and Ukrainians, Europe wanted to restrain the escalation and promote peace, but ended up doing the opposite. The sanctions for Russia economically damaged Europe and benefited the US, which is interested in creating a gap between the Federation and Europe. Now there is a new Cold War on that risks becoming a warm one. A lack of preventive border defense makes it dangerous."

How do you judge Putin? Is he as hostile, as many claim?

"When the USSR was dissolved in 1991, the US seized to gain more influence and expanded NATO in the East – to the detriment of Russia."

Don’t European nations have the right to preserve their national identities?

"Absolutely. Russia, however, is not attacking anyone, but feels threatened itself. It would be better for Europe to be free itself from American hegemony and troops. Europe should further raise an army capable of securing its borders."

If so, is there no future for the EU in its current form?

"The EU can survive only by becoming more democratic, respecting its citizens’ interests, and becoming something more than the expression of the ruling class in many countries. Without broad and direct political participation, there is no future for the EU, and we will be doomed like the USSR in 1991."

Last but not least, what do you think about the Italian political scene?

"Lega Nord has been the parliamentary expression of movements such as Pegida since its foundation. It is a pleasure to see progress on the peninsula as well. "

The problem is that the Italians still don’t participate much in politics…

“It is natural: The people hadn’t elected their prime minister for 7 years, thanks to Brussels.

Silvio Berlusconi did not implement 100% of the reform agenda the EU planned for Italy, which is why Berlusconi was “substituted”. When a people is deprived of the right to choose its own representatives, it’s simply forced to leave the EU. This can be clearly seen in Greece.”

Si ringraziano Marica Regina e Ben Austin per la traduzione.