Right-Wing Populism in Europe - Rising Concerns

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Europe has witnessed many unstable governments in power for the past few decades. The Elections held in the last and current year has created anxious moments for the people in Europe and the world. The Presidential and Parliamentary Elections were held in 13 countries in 2022 and 17 in 2023. 

In most of these countries, the populists, especially those on the ideological right, have won larger vote shares. This gripping political development of "far-right parties" with populism as their central ideology has caught the attention of scholars across the world, validating populism as "a discourse, involving the supremacy of popular sovereignty to claim that corrupt elites are degrading 'the people'.

Various research studies conducted in France, Austria, and Germany on this political phenomenon presented the facts of its continued reign in electoral politics of Europe with certain pertinent vital features. First, the success of their electoral performance has been their efforts to preserve national sovereignty and implement policies to give primordial importance to natives rather than immigrants.

Further, in Poland, Hungary, and Sweden, populist parties have been in the office of the ruling government many times, either solely or as partners in minority governments. They have also attempted to join other parties in preparing the policy agenda, such as formulating the immigration policy. All these demonstrate how the RWP has identified itself as a significant political player in European countries.

The new trend of RWP gaining political power is due to the prevailing economic and immigration crisis, the Ukraine issue, and other transformation processes that globalization has forced on them. 

It has created a condition wherein the democracies in Europe have been put under threat, giving scope for authoritarian leaders to emerge to protect their citizens. Observing the current political scenario in many of the Western, Central, and East European countries, one can evidence a policy change in ideology and rhetoric. 

Democracy is fast deteriorating in Europe, and a recent report by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA, 2022) presents a grim picture of democracy shrinking. This impact on countries is based on four major categories of democratic performance: Rule of Law, Rights, Representation, and Participation. 

The Nordic countries are at the top; Hungary, Poland, and Romania showed the worst performance, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, and Turkey have drifted from the rest of Europe, and also a decline of strong democracies of Europe, Austria, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and the UK. 

The waves of populism continue to cast their shadows in Sweden, Italy, Hungary, Finland, Poland, and others to follow in time. This has made the people vulnerable to vote for RWP parties with their narratives across Europe.

Since the Second World War, far-right parties have moved on from being neo-fascist (1945-55) to right-wing populism (1955-80) to populist radical right parties (1980-2000), continuing its influence in the 21st century on issues like crime, corruption, and immigration. In this context, the countries that require close watch are Hungary, Poland, Italy, Sweden, and France. 

Currently, Europe is also witnessing the success of strategies adopted by RWP parties in gaining and remaining in power with their populist points and undermining the need to implement sound policies for their people. It is also interesting to note that these RWP parties prioritize national interests over continental aspirations. 

If the RWP parties in Europe choose to join, increasing their membership in the European Union with unity, they can very well uphold the dominance of "European Nationalism." The future of Europe thus lies in how the RWP parties transcend their identity from being ethno-regional to greater cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism.

 A closer look into the RWP parties ascertains why populism is central to the ideological appeal of many far-right parties. The book by Mudde views society as divided into homogeneous and antagonistic groups, "the pure people" and "the corrupt elite," and argues that politics should reflect the people's general will. 

According to Golder, the elite is a parasitical class that enriches itself and systematically ignores the people's grievances. Urbinati considered it to be exclusionary or exclusionary when imagining the people. Sandrin, 2021 in his work has proposed that exclusionary populism is the dominant form in Europe and is associated with right-wing parties.

 The populism in France and Italy has risen over the years and is viewed as a force to counter the NATO alliance. Today, the countries in Europe are divided on the nature of the relationship with Russia (Shared European Values) and NATO management by the US (outside the Continent). To accelerate the energy transition in Europe, new strategies were implemented, which have become a fitting finale to the relations between the US and the EU.

Further, the war in Ukraine has highlighted the growing distance between the countries in the West, portraying their varied interests in Europe. Today, the major European countries are not in a position to condemn Russian aggression, and the sanctions imposed have no practical impact. In this condition, it is hard to evidence how Europe could become the 'third pole' between China and the US.

The weakening of Europe's industrial heartland in the absence of a European Industrial Policy tells the region's economic backwardness despite Germany being a significant economic power. The backwardness of Europe has led to technological subjugation despite the policy initiatives to bring in technological advancement. Many major European players in the energy sector have disappeared over the years, and Europe could only resurface through effective Carbon pricing. 

As per the latest IMF Report of 2023, growth has slowed drastically in Europe, with rising inflation and episodes of financial stress materialized. Currently, Europe is facing the daunting challenges of achieving sustainable recovery, defeating inflation, and safeguarding financial stability. 

This uncertainty has strengthened the case for tight monetary policy, and governments across Europe have to ensure sustainable economic growth with restrictive macroeconomic policies. RWP stand or election manifesto on Anthropogenic Climate Change (ACC), renewable energy, low carbon emissions etc are demand-driven which is in contrast to their populist policies and this could be a critical factor for the forthcoming elections, if the electorate demands such policies. 

An overview of the performance of RWP in 2023  in Europe’s uncertain social and economic terrain shows that the RWP parties are transforming and working towards creating a stable and cordial political climate in Europe.  Will they be front runners and bring notable changes in light of the 2024 elections?

 

Professor and Head, Dept. of Politics and Public Administration, University of Madras