UKIP's dodgy allies

I am indebted to today's Observer which has run an in-depth interview with Korwin-Mikke, whose far-right Polish party UKIP are now allied with in the European Parliament. It is a party that France’s far-right Front National, led by Marine Le Pen, has decided  is too extreme for an alliance.

The interview does us all a service by highlighting the sort of policies and views UKIP are prepared to harness themselves to, and in doing so reveals the true nature of Nigel Farage's party. Here are some extracts:

• Korwin-Mikke has the potential to be an embarrassing ally. For instance, he thinks women’s opinions are shaped by the sperm of the men they sleep with, that they are “on average” less clever than men, and that nearly half of women who tell a man they don’t want to have sex with them are feigning reluctance and should be ignored.
• There is no proof Hitler knew about the Holocaust, he has argued for years, and he told the Observer that Mussolini, who stripped Jewish citizens of property and civil rights, then sent thousands to German concentration camps, “was trying to protect Jews”.
• He would like to abolish not just the European Union but democracy altogether, replacing it with an absolute monarchy, which he considers the gold standard for government. His main objection to dictatorship is that it leaves open the question of who succeeds a leader.
• “If someone gives money to an unemployed person he should have his hand cut off because he is destroying the morale of the people,” Korwin-Mikke said, adding that the state should not give anyone a cent either. “Europeans were very aggressive and now the boys are taught not to be aggressive … Give them the pistol, give them a sword.”
• The two parties share a more important goal though, both Polish politicians say. “He wants to destroy the European Union, and even Lucifer or Beelzebub who is against the European Union is our ally, because it is the greatest danger to Europe,” said Korwin-Mikke, who wants to convert part of the EU headquarters into a giant brothel.
• Part of his distaste for modern Europe is driven by the position of women, who he says have replaced “privileges” with “equal rights”, a phrase Korwin-Mikke spat out as if it was an insult. Most want to stay at home to raise families, and can’t be trusted to vote, said the twice-married father of six. They are also, he claims, “less tall, less heavy, less intelligent, on the average”. And he adds: “Women usually vote for the more handsome man.”
• “Women want to be led by men,” he claimed. They particularly like to be led to the bedroom, he added, saying that men should often ignore a partner who said no to sex. “Women usually pretend that they don’t want [sex]. You must be competent enough to differentiate whether she seriously doesn’t want,” he said. “The percentage of women who pretend that they don’t want to have sex, but they do want in fact, is about 30 or 40%. Asked how a rape trial could be prosecuted if a woman’s words were not accepted as evidence of her intentions, he said men should not be convicted unless there were two witnesses to the crime.

Mr. Farage does choose the most charmning bedfellows, but given that in doing so he has just secured an additional million pounds of public money for his party I doubt if he will care.