Take, first, the three big parties in the EU. France's Socialist party went from a governing majority in the presidency and the National Assembly to 7 percent of the total vote in last year's presidential election and virtual disappearance from parliament.
Germany's Social Democratic party fell to 20 percent in the recent elections.
Poland's socialists lost power in 2005 when Polish politics became a contest between the urban, liberal Civic Platform and the rural, conservative Law and Justice party.
Hungary's Social Democrats lost office in 2010 and have since splintered into several parties; a five-party Left coalition won a quarter of the total vote in 2014 and splintered again; at present they are debating whether to form a new coalition for the forthcoming election on April 8.
What has happened is that the wider Left has split, sometimes moving right, sometimes forming new parties, sometimes taking over old ones, and sometimes prospering when it does.
If we stand back we can now see four forces in the new politics of flux: Left populists, Left centrists, Right centrists, Right populists.
Until now, the default position of the mainstream parties and the European establishment in response to the upsurge of populism has been to form defensive centrist coalitions against it.
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2018/03/15/european-social-democrats-decline-reshapes-european-politics/
Germany's Social Democratic party fell to 20 percent in the recent elections.
Poland's socialists lost power in 2005 when Polish politics became a contest between the urban, liberal Civic Platform and the rural, conservative Law and Justice party.
Hungary's Social Democrats lost office in 2010 and have since splintered into several parties; a five-party Left coalition won a quarter of the total vote in 2014 and splintered again; at present they are debating whether to form a new coalition for the forthcoming election on April 8.
What has happened is that the wider Left has split, sometimes moving right, sometimes forming new parties, sometimes taking over old ones, and sometimes prospering when it does.
If we stand back we can now see four forces in the new politics of flux: Left populists, Left centrists, Right centrists, Right populists.
Until now, the default position of the mainstream parties and the European establishment in response to the upsurge of populism has been to form defensive centrist coalitions against it.
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2018/03/15/european-social-democrats-decline-reshapes-european-politics/
No comments:
Post a Comment