Lately, there has has been a surge of populism and right-wing politics all across Europe. This has been an inflection point sparking the change from left-wing to right-wing politics. The lean towards the right-wing began with Brexit and has only been bolstered by the election of republican nominee, Donald Trump.
To begin discussing the rise of populism we need to clarify some terms that are often used but not often understood.
- Populism: The belief that power should be in the hands of “regular people” ; the belief that the common person (working class) should rule and make decisions as opposed to traditional parties.
- Brexit: The “British Exit” refers to the vote made on June 23rd, 2016 for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. This means that the United Kingdom is their own territory separate from the European Union and they can no longer work, travel, etc. in other countries in the Union without first obtaining proper visas. Important Note: Brexit refers to all of Great Britain, not just England.
- Inflection Point: A point on a curve in which curvature [direction] changes.
The rise of populism should be no surprise as the lean towards the right has slowly been emerging. Smaller European countries, like Hungary and Poland, have elected rightist leaders and countries such as France are having a boom in support for their right-wing parties, specifically Marine Le Pen with the National Front. In Austria, there is a 50-50 split between a populist and non-populist candidate. The Populist Movement has been emerging for a while now, Brexit and the election of Trump have only now brought it to our attention.
Why is this surge in right-wing politics important to understand? To put it simply, the future of global interactions, specifically that of the European Union could drastically change. Following the elections of populist candidates, more and more European countries are threatening to leave the Union. Countries such as France and Germany have both brought up the idea of following Britain and voting to leave. If more and more countries were to leave the EU, then work, travel, and trade in Europe would be increasingly more difficult. Mathew Burrows, director of the Strategic Foresight Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said in an article with CNN:
"It's an inflection point. I think this is really a breakup of the EU, not that the EU itself is going to go completely away, but it's the end of that vision that started at the end of the Second World War that Europe was going to unite.”
In conclusion, only the upcoming elections will be able to show what’s in store for Europe’s future. Has Europe truly hit an inflection point? That’s up for you to decide.
For further reading:
“How Far is Europe Swinging to the Right?” - http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/05/22/worl...
