The Rise of Populism in Europe

As more and more populists enter into the political scene, the word “populism” is growing to be a very vague term. The concept and practice of populism has become increasingly hard to identify as the variety of populist practices and ideology has blossomed, but the idea of the people being in a battle against the elite and the parallel “us versus them” dichotomy are frequently and rightfully associated with the core meaning of populism. Mansbridge and Macedo, professors of politics at Harvard and Princeton respectively, provide a commonly supported definition of populism: “the people in a morally charged battle against the elites.” 
Populist leaders claim to speak in the name of ‘the people,’ employing a message of discursive discontent. Roger Eatwell describes a populist leader as someone who typically uses misinformation to deliver radical policies (regardless left, right, or center) a personal presence, and an often charismatic personality. They gain momentum and popularity by leveraging public discontent to their advantage. Such leaders move towards populism when the dissonance between the people and the elites becomes too high and ordinary classes of citizens no longer feel represented. Take France as an example: although President Emmanuel Macron, France’s center-left incumbent, was ultimately re-elected in April’s presidential election, it was not by a significant margin.

Marine Le Pen — daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, former president of the National Front — ran on an anti-immigrant nationalist platform. She promised to cut sales taxes on gas, oil, and electricity, and get rid of the income tax for young workers. She also pushed for a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage. Additionally, her nationalistic platform was reflected in her defiance of European Union rules — in her campaign, Le Pen fought to make immigrants second-class citizens in French society by reducing their social and political benefits and restricting freedom of movement within French borders. With such an extreme agenda, the following question arises: Why would Marine Le Pen, or any populist leader for that matter, perform well in the polls?

While Le Pen’s National Rally party, formally known as her father’s National Front party, did not win the parliamentary elections that ended in June, she managed to win 41.5 percent of the votes, while also securing more than 10 times the seats that the party won five years prior. Le Pen gained success by tapping into the white working class that felt abandoned and betrayed by globalization and the technological revolution — a global phenomenon that has led to the closure of many industrial jobs and the rise of multinational corporations that are taking advantage of cheaper, foreign labor. With this, Le Pen has called herself a mouthpiece for Les Gilets Juanes, a movement that has arien in response to a tax system that has been perceived as unfair. The anti-government protest movement is composed of people from peripheral and rural areas who largely work as factory, delivery, and care workers. Their low incomes and the high taxes have increased their frustration about not being able to make ends meet.

Le Pen campaigned with the slogan, “give the French back their country and their money,” which gained popularity as many voters were frustrated with Macron, accusing him of dismissing their concerns regarding factory closures and lost jobs. Le Pen has perpetrated the defining factor of populism in that she has fought to be a voice for ‘the people’ as one of ‘the people’, which is illustrated through her economic policies and opposition to globalization.

Not far from France, a similar political situation has unfolded in Italy. On September 25, 2022, Italy's election results set the stage for the country’s farthest-right government since Mussolini’s election in 1929. The seats of Parliament have been filled and Fratelli d’Italia (FdI) came out with the most votes, making Giorgia Meloni, the co-founder of the FdI, Italy’s first female prime minister. FdI has a neofascist background, with Meloni having roots as a militant in the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). MSI was formed after World War II and many of the members are supporters of Mussolini. Meloni ran with the stance that she would govern the nation for all Italians with “the aim of uniting the people.” Central to her identity as a politician is the fact that Meloni grew up as a working-class single mother, which she has strategically used to gain popularity from her “burn-down-the-elite rhetoric.” This rhetoric is illustrated through her proposal of tax cuts, which are aimed to help the ordinary working class of Italian citizens.

Populism is on the rise, which is evident through the near populist win in France and the success of Meloni’s neo-fascist party in Italy. Populist politicians like Le Pen and Meloni have promised redemption for the people and are providing their nations with an alternate vision for power — a vision in which the elite class is no longer ruling at the expense of the people. Populism, however, could very likely act as a threat to the very democracy that it was supposed to protect. And this is not only a problem for France and Italy, but for other countries like Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia, where economic insecurity has led to an emergence of authoritarian populism.

Populism has appealed to the working class who have felt left behind by rapid globalization, and the consequences are likely to be detrimental to democracy in Europe and around the globe.

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