A study by Bloomberg that observed election results in 22 European countries in the past decade showed that support for populist radical-right parties is higher than it has been at any time over the past 30 years.
A prime example is Viktor Orban, who won by a landslide to become Hungary’s prime minister for a third consecutive term. Orban’s rhetoric for his re-election campaign emphasised fear mongering tactics, referring to refugees as “Muslim invaders” and migrants as “poison.” His crackdown on opposing press raises concerns for the country, but his rhetoric is becoming more common across Europe.
Italy’s populist Lega Nord leader Matteo Salvini declared Trump and Orban as his role models, calling for Italy to regain the country from “disease-ridden” migrants. In Poland, the right-wing party Law and Justice led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski is increasingly popular and even went as far as helping activists travel to Warsaw for a march in which xenophobic and racist slogans were used.
In France, it’s Marine Le Pen and the French National Party. In Netherlands, it’s Geert Wilders and the Party for Freedom. Even in Germany, which didn’t have a considerable right-wing party for years, joined the mainstream with the Alternative for Germany movement created in 2013. The list goes on with right-wing parties or leaders gaining significant growth in their countries.
Another indicator is Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, showing the country’s distrust in multilateralism. The majority of voters were likely to be of lower educational level who saw their way of life being changed by smarter and more capable eastern Europeans who flooded the labor market thanks to EU policies.
In fact, United States President Donald Trump kicking off his campaign by promising to build a wall to keep out Mexican “rapists” and asking for the ban of Muslims gave permission to right-wing leaders across the world to prioritize self-interest. Orban believed Trump’s inauguration gave “the green light to put ourselves in first place” and also called it the “the end of multilateralism.” Another inspiration to right wing populist movements is Vladimir Putin, with his ultra-nationalist, self-isolating ideology that he is implementing in Russia.
The question is why is social democracy failing to thrive?
The simple answer is that the ideology has not updated itself with the current global climate. What are social democratic politicians fighting for in Europe? Social democracy was initially started to help the working class with the industrial revolution but failed to maintain its selling point in the past decade. The “taking from the rich to help the poor” rhetoric is not resonating with workers who are now considered part of the middle-class. Calling for extra taxation is slowly becoming unfavored by the population who don’t want to be taxed to support EU policies.
The underpinnings of social democracy that call for a social welfare state and equal opportunities is considered a staple across Europe and is not something that needs to be fought for anymore. The Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Social Party in France, The Dutch Labour party in Netherlands, and the Pasok of Greece are examples of social democratic parties losing popularity with their outdated reforms. The ideology’s failure to recognize the public’s concerns with mass immigration, cultural liberalization and the frustrations with international bodies has led to its rapid decline.
This is not the end of social democracy though. If populist movements are gaining traction, then it is clear that inequality is still being felt among the population. The world is changing to a more digital market and industrial jobs are vanishing. The ideology fails to account for this change and needs to find solutions that can resonate with today’s economy. It has to also find solutions to the rise of immigration and terrorism (which the right are using to their advantage).
It will be interesting to see if there will be a new face of Europe in a couple of years. Will populist movements gain power and become the face of the continent, or will social democracy regain its power?
Photo: nadruksklep via Pixabay
