Right- wing Populism on the rise: Progressive counter strategies for Europe 1 st conference

Transcription

1 Right- wing Populism on the rise: Progressive counter strategies for Europe 1 st conference Brussels, 20 th April 2016 FEPS Activity Report Maria Freitas FEPS Policy Advisor FEPS April 2016

2 On the 20 th of April 2016, the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) together with the Representation of Lower Saxony to the EU held a seminar on the topic Right- wing Populism on the rise: Progressive counter strategies for Europe, in Brussels. The seminar came as complement of the EU- wide research of FEPS on Populism in Europe with a specific focus on the Populist Radical Right. Therefore the conference depended the spectrum of the research done so far and the representation of academics, experts and politicians originating from different countries and generations prompted to re- consider current attitudes of progressives vis- à- vis Right- wing Populists as well as to get a better understanding of what sort of political challenge these movements and parties represent not only at the Member State level but also to the European Union as a whole. FEPS Rue Montoyer 40, B Brussels Tel Fax info@feps- europe.eu 2

3 The discussions held observed two dimensions: at first, the debate focused on a number of country- specific manifestations of right- wing populism in Europe and how these could be tackled by progressives and was then followed by an attentive look on the German situation, especially after the recent regional elections in the country. This first seminar is expected to be followed by a second conference in late November 2016, which will take place in Göttingen in Germany so as to bring new ideas and a European holistic approach on how to handle the rise of Populism in Lower Saxony. Birgit Honé, State Secretary for Europe and Regional Development in Lower Saxony pointed out the difficult economical and social context of the European Union, upon which Populist parties thrive with toxic and intolerant messages. In turn, Ernst Stetter FEPS Secretary General conveyed that such a gloomy European context also made the case for social democratic parties even more challenging. But, on the other hand, the positive case about social democracy is its constant quest for modernization. This becomes even more of an imperative because inequalities are growing, the opportunities for citizens are closing and the future looks impoverished, gloomy and insecure. FEPS Rue Montoyer 40, B Brussels Tel Fax info@feps- europe.eu 3

4 Tendencies nowadays, especially among the young seem to be either to abstain from voting a growing tendency or looking for alternative parties. Both tendencies have increased as well as the number of populist parties since In fact, most popular Right- wing Populist parties are mostly located in Eastern Europe, but also France, Austria and Denmark. There is a new iron curtain dividing Europe into East and West. Hence, bringing positive recommendations for progressives becomes even more important when these forces are capturing the minds and hearts of the younger generation. The following recommendations of counter- strategies that could be considered by progressives to tackle these movements were: Re- evaluate how progressives can tackle populism, without battling them on their own ground and ignoring them completely. A potential approach should be addressing the wider issue notably to work on the European project and find out what could be done better. For progressives it is very important who is chosen as leading candidate, as strong leader sets the pace of the campaign and is successful and secondly, more votes can be won for progressives with a coherent and consistent message. Additional three potential approaches were provided on how the media could address populist or extremist parties: by neglecting them, demonizing them or making them trendsetters, depending on their level of public support. Neglecting a radical party only works if they are not serious players in the political arena with support less than 5% in elections. This approach is elitist and obsolete and didn t work out in Germany or Hungary. Neglecting populist parties from media might actually help radical parties spread the feeling of alienation and of a dishonest media. The second approach is demonization. Media acts as the guardian of democracy and if it labels parties as extremists, they make any serious debate impossible. A sub- scenario of demonization is inviting extremist party members, FEPS Rue Montoyer 40, B Brussels Tel Fax info@feps- europe.eu 4

5 but then shutting them out and not letting them express their opinion. This approach usually backfires and creates sympathy with the extremists among the audience. Moral journalism that doesn t criticize political decisions and doesn t depict dissatisfaction among the citizens might also backfire, considering it gives extremist parties an open field. This way the extremist parties set the agenda of the political discourse with strong statements and suddenly from being ignored they have become trendsetters. Media should not wage a war on populism, but stick to its original role of an informer. The media should ask, inform, and criticize, but it should not preach without the support of facts. Last but not least, specific recommendations for progressives in Germany were provided as well: The twofold radicalization in Germany, i.e., firstly the rise of the right- wing populists Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), and the increase of acts of violence directed towards refugees, asylum accommodations and supporters of refugees needs to be seen separately in order to prevent trivialization of extremist acts. However, right- wing populism and extremism are indeed linked to the migration crisis in the EU, which in turn can be observed in the increased amount of votes the AfD amasses now in contrast to The populists use rhetoric with century old patterns of racism and blaming the weaker members of society. Progressives by tackling the real issues such as social disparity in society is a response to the populist discourse. Being progressive against populism also means understanding racism, while criticizing and addressing the real issues in the society. FEPS Rue Montoyer 40, B Brussels Tel Fax info@feps- europe.eu 5