Viktor Orban - one of Europe's most successful contemporary populists? Demotix/Mark Kerrison. All rights reserved.Europe has long been intrigued by the lure of populism and its potential to mobilize citizens beyond traditional cleavages within society. Though still a relatively marginal political phenomena, populism of both the extreme left and right continues to exert a profound impact on political debate. Populists have, in particular, benefitted from mounting dissatisfaction with political elites that have repeatedly been either unable or unwilling to address contentious issues.
In a Europe where actions once deemed extreme are increasingly considered normal, the threats of populism are ever more pronounced. Europe is now ripe for a populist surge; one that the right is better placed to exploit, and that the left would be well-advised to oppose. Confronting this surge, however, requires not a new movement of counter-populism, but a genuine renewal of democratic political participation.
The re-emergence of right-wing populism constitutes a threat and dilemma not only to the more traditional conservative right, but also to parties of the left. Right-wing populists do not simply attract support from those who are xenophobic or harbor nationalistic tendencies, but from those who interpret that their living standards have been adversely affected by immigration.
