Brexit pollie believes Australian revolution is possible
THE British politician who campaigned heavily for Brexit believes Australia could soon see a right-wing, anti-immigration party sweep to power here, following the lead of some big European countries.
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THE British politician who drove the UK out of Europe has warned anti-immigration feeling in Australia is now as high as in nations where there have been populist revolutions.
Nigel Farage, dubbed “Mr Brexit”, cited political takeovers in Italy, Hungary and Austria where right-wing, anti-immigration parties swept to power, and believes the same could happen here.
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When he announced his five-date Australian lecture tour, Mr Farage said: “A recent Australian poll showed that two-thirds of Australians believe that their way of life, as they know it, is under threat.”
The only way to stop the drownings is to turn back the boats. Australia did this very successfully in 2008. https://t.co/hO6p9GvcMr
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 11, 2018
Although he has not cited that poll source, Mr Farage last night told The Daily Telegraph: “Before (Donald) Trump was elected, two-thirds of the American population said they were not satisfied with the status quo and still no one believed that Trump could get elected. But Trump did, so in some ways there are similar levels of public feeling among the Australian people as there have been in countries that have already seen enormous political change.
“People can choose to ignore polls and, indeed, no one thought Brexit would happen, and there’s no question that open-door immigration with the European Union was a key issue around that.
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“I think the West has been really rather weak about immigration. It’s not just about numbers, it’s about whether people are going to add and contribute to society.
“Actually, the big rebellion we are seeing, it is Brexit, it is Trump, it’s the Italian elections, the Hungarian elections, the Austrian elections — it’s right across the West — and there’s a feeling that the political class is out of touch with public opinion on these issues.”
Mr Farage — who is due to arrive in Australia in September — has already urged Aussies to challenge politicians and “take back” the country. “Some argue that it is inflammatory but … my view is that the revolution of 2016 is going to continue to roll out,” he said.