Populism on march across Europe may have arrived on our own shores
ACROSS Europe, national populist parties and movements are sweeping through our democracies, reshaping them from below.
National populists enjoyed record election results while support for social democratic parties has slumped or collapsed. The national populist parties (NPPs) promise to give voice to those who get up early in the morning and work and who feel they have been neglected.
Calls for a reboot of the Third Way of French President Emmanuel Macron conveniently ignore the fact that social democratic parties have now sunk to historic lows in most EU countries including Ireland, while socialists in France and Holland were almost wiped out.
When YouGov recently asked voters across Europe to name their top two priorities, every state gave the same reply – immigration and terrorism.
The economy is usually a distant third. Objective economic indicators have only a weak effect or none when explaining the appeal of national populism.
Four indicators show long-term trends have been reshaping politics in the west for decades.
The first is the way which the elitist nature of liberal democracy has promoted a distrust of mainstream parties and institutions like the European Union.
The second is how immigration cultivates strong fears about the possible destruction of the national groups’ historic identity and established way of life.
And the third indicator is the relative deprivation as a result of rising inequalities of income and wealth weakening bonds between traditional mainstream parties and the people.
We are closer to the beginning of a new era of political fragmentation and disruption as the bonds between the traditional parties fray and rising inequality continues to gain pace.
There is a strong middle class support for populist parties.
NPP’s can throw themselves into other causes.
Meanwhile, the bottom cohort of the population continues to be ignored.
We get platitudes about solving the housing crisis by 2023 and about the HSE, such as the suggestion that “well paid doctors and nurses” should work over Christmas.
If it swims like a duck, quacks like a duck then... we might have a populist Government.
Hugh Duffy
Cleggan, Co Galway