Right-wing Populism in Europe
Introduction
From time to time, many individuals use appeals to the population or make claims of representing the interests of the general public as opposed to those of a particular group of people. However, the use of such strategies occasionally by some people does not make them populists. Such techniques are frequently referred to as populist merely for the purpose of denouncing them, but a better description for such is opportunistic. Besides, consistent programs or ideologies are not the most significant factors for the essence of a populist party or for it to succeed. Regarding political positions on a majority of issues, populist formations have more flexibility compared to programmatic formations. The permanent and central narrative for populism is the juxtaposition of an establishment of an elite political class that is corrupt, and the people, whose sole voice that is authentic is used by the populist party in billing itself. Thus, populists are always seen to favor direct democracy instruments.
The right-wing populism has risen in Europe and thrown the continent off-balance. There is already evidence on the impacts it is having on policies regarding asylum, inclusion, and migration (Greven, p. 1). In the majority of the European nations, the propaganda of the right-wing is raising questions concerning achievements that have already been made, such as the right of refugees, the freedom of movement for citizens of the EU, and the freedom of religion. Right-wing populism has added an antagonism of us against them, leading to a specific form of communication politically. On the basis of defining people as having cultural homogeneity, right-wing populism juxtaposes the common interests and identity of its adherents, which they consider common sense to be the base, with the interests and identity of others parties considered to belong to minority groups like the migrants, who are allegedly favored by the elites that are corrupt (Greven, p. 1). Right-wing populists are known to use strategic tactics for painting political communication negatively. The techniques they use include personal insults, emotional appeals, political correctness in disrespecting informal and formal rules, and calculatedly breaking supposed taboos (Greven, p. 1).
Reasons for the Emergence of Populist Forces in Europe
There is a current resurgence of right-wing populist parties in the European continent. Such a kind of rebirth has not been experienced since the Second World War ended. The rise of the populist forces results from the broad uncertainty sections of the European societies are feeling. In particular, these broad sections consist of older people in European nations. These older people have the feeling of being threatened due to the integration of Europe, migration, globalization, and an upcoming trend of lifestyles that are becoming individualized and increasingly diverse. The older people feel like hostages in a prodigious game in international circles. Although these people live in democracies that are economically strong, their impression is that they are not able to control their lives and the politics of their countries.
The way the right-wing nationalists have responded to the fears mentioned above is simple. They strike a tone that is neo-nationalist. They strongly criticize the multilateral agreements established, the European Union, and the European Union’s attempts towards arriving at a humanitarian policy for refugees. The right-wing populists are unified in the way they champion for more families that are traditional and their belief in a national culture that is dominant, of which Christian values often mark it. The group calls for tough stances against Muslims, refugees, and immigrants, or the Roma, as is the case in Eastern Europe. Their demands are for strict laws related to immigration and asylum and actions that are decisive against the threats posed by terrorism. The group believes that just by Muslims being present, it increases the risk of terrorist attacks. One of the favorite ways the group utilizes is stirring up resentment by pointing to how immigrants supposedly abuse services of social protection.
Significance of the Power and Support of Populist Forces
Right-wing populism is gaining a lot of power and support globally. It is striking how populism has risen in systematically important and large nations. At first, populism in power was only restricted to democracies that were newly emerging. However, populism is currently in control in countries with strong democracies such as the United States, India, and Italy (Zaslove et al., p. 3). Given the dramatic uptick that has been there in the vote share of populists, it should not come as a surprise when candidates that are populist begin gaining power as well (Zaslove et al., p. 3).
In recent years, watershed events in the political circles have added to the power and support of populist forces (Kyle and Limor, p. 5). These have led to populism being in the headlines rather than in academic journals. Such events include the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States nation, the vote for Brexit, the success in elections of the Five Star Movement in Italy, the sudden lurch of Brazil to the right after the election of Jair Bolsonaro to the presidency, and the support that has doubled for populism across Europe (Kyle and Limor, p. 3).
Main Policy Stances of Populism
Two fundamental claims unify populism. These are; the claim that there exists a conflict between the “true people” and outsiders and that the will of the true people of a nation should not be constrained by anything (Kyle and Limor, p. 2). Instead of viewing politics as a battlefield for distinct policy stands, populist forces stand for a particular common good for all individuals, which is a policy goal whose debate is based on people’s common sense and not derived from evidence. Populists argue that this common good needs to be the aim of politics. The establishment of elites in a nation is part of a self-serving and corrupt cartel, which is indifferent to the common good and thus does not stand for the interests of a nation’s true people. Therefore, a core feature of populism is the politics of anti-establishment politics. Populist forces emphasize directly connecting with their supporters, without mediation by the media, civil society groups, or political parties (Kyle and Limor, p. 2).
There are two shared goals for almost all right-wing populist forces in Europe. They aim at reducing, or even reversing (if it were possible), all cases of immigration, particularly the immigration of Muslims (Zaslove et al., p. 12). Additionally, they stand for minorities becoming invisible as much as possible. For example, they want to make mosques, headscarves, and all things they consider foreign to vanish from public life (Zaslove et al., p. 13). The two goals come from the need of keeping things simple and with cultural homogeneity as supposed to have been in the past that is nostalgically imagined. Such an illusion is what is seen as the solution to the current issues.
Impact of Populism on the European Union and European Politics
Even though parliamentary systems might have more resilience to the upsurge of populist forces getting to executive offices compared to presidential systems, the way populist forces are gaining popularity across European nations means there will be a need for factoring them more into politics of coalition. The presence of populist forces in the political circles is already making it hard for alliances in gaining a majority in governance. If political parties join together in forming barriers with the aim of keeping out of power the populist forces, it will look to those that support populism as a conspiracy being established for keeping them out of control by all means, which will potentially fan the flames of the appeal of populists (Kyle and Limor, p. 17).
Populism poses a risk of stalling the policymaking of the European Union through obstructing the likelihood of compromise, which is at the core of any policy of the EU. This would further strengthen nationalist regimes and undermine the confidence European citizens have in European institutions. It would prove the key talking point of the citizens – that the EU is a bureaucracy that is inefficient, with the inability of protecting them. Therefore, the most dangerous impact of the influence of populists in the European Parliament will be the European Union becoming paralyzed and losing relevance on the global scene (Kyle and Limor, p. 18).
Conclusion
There is a current resurgence of right-wing populist forces in Europe. In the majority of the European nations, the propaganda of the right-wing is raising questions concerning achievements that have already been made, such as the right of refugees, the freedom of movement for citizens of the EU, and the freedom of religion. Populists strongly criticize the multilateral agreements established, the European Union, and the European Union’s attempts towards arriving at a humanitarian policy for refugees.
Works Cited
Greven, Thomas. “The rise of right-wing populism in Europe and the United States.” A Comparative Perspective [La emergencia del populismo de derechas en Europa y Estados Unidos. Una perspectiva comparada]. Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Washington DC Office (2016): 1-8.
Zaslove, Andrej, et al. “Power to the people? Populism, democracy, and political participation: a citizen’s perspective.” West European Politics (2020): 1-25.
Kyle, Jordan, and Limor Gultchin. “Populism in Power around the World.” Available at SSRN 3283962 (2018).