EU Forum

Abandonment of the centre ground

25 May 2016 - 21:35

Source: foxnews.com

Topics

Social Europe

Support for the EU

Migration

EU Integration

Security

The Austrian presidential election brought the message straight home. The centre seems to be breaking up. Even though a respectable Green outpaced an energetic right-wing populist by the slimmest of margins, the outcome left no doubt about its symbolism. The Socialist and Christian Democratic parties, the traditional contenders for power in Austria, found themselves sidelined. And the populist right has moved into the heart of the political system. Successive crises have prepared the electoral ground for its message, which, both externally and domestically, is nationalistic and socially defensive.

Is Austria an exception in its apparent double rejection of Muslim immigration and European integration? Or are we dealing with a broader phenomenon? Yes and no. Clearly quite a few European countries are currently witnessing a rise of discontent, which is finding expression on the margins of the political system. (In fact, the current primaries in the US seem to present a similar picture in America.) The more ‘established’ parties find themselves severely challenged and under pressure. Most of this is coming from the right: the Front National in France, the Alternative für Deutschland in Germany and the Party for Law and Justice in Poland are just very visible examples. But Spain, Italy and even France show that today’s resentment is not the monopoly of the far right; it is also occurring on the left of the spectrum. So far, however, it is only in Austria - and previously in Greece and Central & Eastern Europe - that these movements are on the verge of toppling the traditional balance of power.

Are there common causes for this revolutionary unrest? Of course, local circumstances play a role, and there are also age differences between these protest movements. But generally there appear to be several new lines of conflict that are emerging all over Europe and managing to overshadow the left-right conflict that is institutionalised in most countries’ political systems. Not that right and left have disappeared as distinctive categories, but circumstances have propelled them into new guises. These new juxtapositions appear to result from the dynamic of globalisation. The financial crisis of 2008 symbolised unleashed capitalism, with its deeply undermining effects on employment, social security and a sustainable welfare state. The euro crisis of 2010 prescribed the painful recipe of budget discipline and structural adjustment to keep the common European currency afloat. Modernisation of socioeconomic systems seemed to be inescapable for both the left and the right, helping to blur their distinctive traits. ‘Grand coalitions’ between parties of the right and the left, such as those assembled in countries like Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, although not unsuccessful in their political management, accentuated this fading of ideological differences. Immigration, with its threatening effects on low-skilled labour and social entitlements, added to this development and helped create new political conflicts.

What will be the effects of this erosion of the political ‘centre’? Again, national differences can play a decisive role, for example between Germany and France. But, certainly in the short run, right-wing populist movements can be expected to continue encroaching on the power position of the centre parties. They will do this both by using the existing representative democratic system and by advocating referendums and other forms of ‘direct democracy’. They may be successful in this, even managing to create ‘illiberal democracies’, such as those that have already come into existence in some new EU member states. In response, the established parties will either try to isolate these movements in a powerless ‘quarantine’ or, alternatively, co-opt them into government coalitions and thereby seek to neutralise their electoral attraction. Mobilising the ‘democratic majority’ against the populists or making them part of the ‘system’ could be viable defensive options for the centre parties.

In the longer run it would, however, be more sensible to take people’s concerns and resentments seriously and give them a feasible political expression. This may cause traditional distinctions between left and right to reappear and require realignments on both sides of the political system. The same would need to be achieved within the EU, through enhanced democratisation of Europe.

View comments

1172 Comments

Load comments

Abandonment of the centre ground | Clingendael

I'm really impressed along with your writing talents
as well as with the layout to your blog. Is this
a paid theme or did you modify it your self? Either way stay up the excellent high quality
writing, it is uncommon to peer a great weblog like this one these days..

Feel free to surf to my webpage <a href="http://www.uberwin.club/download-918kiss/">Download 918Kiss - Uberwin.club</a>

buy cialis cheap online

generic names for cialis and viagra <a href=" http://tadalafilprof.com/# ">cialis coupon</a>

movers and packers chandigah

I really appreciate this wonderful post that you have provided for us. I assure this would be beneficial for most of the people. http://www.packerandmoverinchandigarh.com/

boys pg in sector 49 gurgaon

Thanks for sharing. Always good to find a real expert.
https://shreedurgapg.com/
https://shreedurgapg.com/pg-accommodation-in-gurgaon/
https://shreedurgapg.com/pg-for-boys-in-gurgaon/
https://shreedurgapg.com/paying-guest-in-gurgaon/
https://shreedurgapg.com/boys-pg-in-gurgaon/

movers and packers in mohali

Nice Post... Thanks for Sharing Such a piece of Wonderful information... https://packersmoversinmohali.in/

Abandonment of the centre ground | Clingendael

I'm truly enjoying the design and layout of your website.
It's a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable
for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme?
Great work!

Feel free to surf to my blog; <a href="https://dd15.info">cosplay</a>

brand levitra cheap

cialis 30 day trial voucher <a href=" http://tadalafilprof.com/# ">cialis without doctor prescription</a>
cialis headaches afterwards: http://tadalafilprof.com

Situs Terpercaya

Abandonment of the centre ground | Clingendael

Link exchange is nothing else but it is only placing the other person's web site link on your page at
proper place and other person will also do same in support of you.

Visit my web page <a href="https://dd15.info">asian girl cosplay pics</a>

Situs Judi Online Terpercaya

Add new comment

Your name

Your name: Anonymous

Comment

About text formats

Text format

Restricted HTML

Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.

Plain text

No HTML tags allowed.
Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.

The products and services that we offer range from trend analyses that are part of our Clingendael Strategic Monitor, to high-quality in-depth analyses, scenario-building, horizon scanning and alerts specifically geared to your organisation.

EU ForumEU Integration

Pressure mounting for Angela Merkel

13 March 2016 - 11:02

Abandonment of the centre ground

1172 Comments

Load comments

Abandonment of the centre ground | Clingendael

buy cialis cheap online

movers and packers chandigah

boys pg in sector 49 gurgaon

movers and packers in mohali

Abandonment of the centre ground | Clingendael

brand levitra cheap

Situs Terpercaya

Abandonment of the centre ground | Clingendael

Situs Judi Online Terpercaya

Add new comment

Restricted HTML

Plain text

Pressure mounting for Angela Merkel

Related publications

Pressure mounting for Angela Merkel

Office address

Postal address

Contact us

Search

Abandonment of the centre ground

1172 Comments

Load comments

Add new comment

Restricted HTML

Plain text

Related publications

Stay updated