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# taz.de -- Spotlight Populism: The People Have to Fight
> How do we survive populism in europe? By ignoring it? By writing about
> it? By fearing it? By discussing it? How?​
Bild: French National Front party leader Marine Le Pen visiting a horse show in…
What a question to answer… What an article to write… What a notion to live
with it… Ok, the last days of 2016 are over. But populism is not a
phenomenon of 2016. It only took very big dimensions during this year of
turnovers that shocked not only Europe but also the rest of the world.
Austrian presidential elections, brexit, the phenomenon of Donald Trump
were only some countable facts concerning the rise of populism in Europe
but also in the USA. But still. It existed for a long time and revived at
least the last two or three decades.
Especially in Europe it could be seen in the rhetoric of the Front National
or in Austria when the Freedom Party joined the government in 1999
provoking the sanctions of the EU… But lately because of the economic
crises and the refugee- immigrant crises and the terrorist attacks and the
confusion that exists in all societies’ populism took another dimension.
Some citizens consider populism as a threat to their existence. Societies
are willing to take protective measures even by forbidding extremist
populist parties.
Politicians are trying to understand what happened and how to face it
especially in a post-truth era where nothing seems evident and everything
needs double checking and verification, and of course nothing should be
taken for granted. And, what about Academia? It depends… there are some
researchers trying to address populism, define it, show the reasons of its
rise, explain it, find solutions. Academia willing to speak to the media
and the society in order to find a solution as left or right populism is a
matter that affects everyone in a society.
But there are others that are unwilling to deal with it. They consider it
as something really difficult to focus on, too dangerous to leave it to the
hands and the pens of journalists to address it. Well, not addressing it
sounds a little bit like elitist approach, an approach that strengthens
populism.
Not writing about it, ignoring it only leads to the opposite result,
meaning it’s growing. Because those who are willing to accept populism are
doing quite the opposite: they do speak a lot and they are so energetic,
they can make their opinions prevail even if those opinions are considered
as extreme or false. And by campaigning populist and also charismatic
leaders manage to gain popularity, legislative or ministerial seats etc.
## How can we define populism?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary populism means the political ideas
and activities that are intended to get the support of ordinary people by
giving them what they want. [1][Cas Mudde wrote] in the Guardian: In its
original form, populism is an ideology that considers society to be
ultimately separated into two homogenous and antagonistic groups: “the pure
people“ and “the corrupt elite“, and argues that politics should be an
expression of the volonté générale (general will) of the people.
Practically, populist politicians almost always combine it with other
ideologies, such as nativism on the right and socialism on the left“.
During 2016 populism show a surge of its power as brexit and the election
of Donald Trump were considered to be wins. The fierce, xenophobic
rhetoric, the lies, those who were left behind because of the
globalisation, the growing gap of non educated people, the fear of the
immigrants and the refugees, the terror, the loss of contact between
governments and societies – especially on the European level- all of these
were reasons that made many voters turn their back on mainstream
politicians and follow those who gave them very simple answers to big
problems.
One other explication is that nowadays societies turned out to be very
tolerant, very liberal, and open as basic cultural values were concerned as
marriage, as race, that a lot of people couldn’t digest them as they were
considered as a threat to traditional values. So tolerant that many people
mainly not educated and older ones could not follow and as a result felt
left behind and marginalised. For example [2][Pipa Norris writes] in The
Washington Post that Trump’s popularity “is a reaction to the election (and
reelection) of the first African American president to the White House; a
backlash against Obama’s policies and style…“.
Another reason for the rise of populism is the economic crises that damaged
the life of a very big part of populations. People who felt that
globalisation stole their identity – especially the ethnic identity- and
they felt threatened by the other, the stranger. Those people use to
combine that loss with the one of the sovereignty of their country –
especially as far as it concerns the European Union- by giving authority
used to belong to their state to Brussels.
The loss of jobs and the economic crisis together with the loss of faith to
the mainstream institutions –as the judiciary or parliaments- all that
produced a very strong and dangerous cocktail very easy to be exploited by
populist politicians who are proposing for example to close the borders for
refugees or migrants, who are not willing to respect human rights for all,
who are willing to follow protectionist measures in order to safeguard jobs
and values, their micro-cosmos. But the world of the 21rst century is an
interconnected world. That means that nowadays societies need to develop
other ways in order to face rising populism.
## Some Thoughts
So, how can we survive populism? Well… maybe by understanding its causes,
by addressing the problem, by dealing with that. Yorgos Christidis,
Assistant Professor at the University of Macedonia, Greece responded to
this question by saying: “Can we deal with the “populist challenge?
Politics First! That should be the answer! On a national level, established
parties should “rediscover“ politics, return or redefine their ideological
profiles, so that their political agendas become more clear and relevant to
the needs of societies (like fighting unemployment and income
redistribution)“.
[3][Cas Mudde wrote] in Politico that “mainstream parties must learn to
offer credible solutions“. Mudde suggests that “if liberal parties are
going to win back voters, they will have to stop simply reacting to the
analyses and solutions offered by the right- wing populists and regain the
initiative in the public debate. This will require providing more
attractive and convincing ideological solutions to the problems voters
perceive they are facing“. And continues proposing “these ideological
alternatives should be modern and realistic ones“.
Populism and the EU
Another very big part in this fight against populism should be played on
the EU. Mr Christidis suggests that: “At an EU level, as problems demand a
pan-European approach and solution, the EU should re-examine a number of
crucial policy areas from the workings of the Euro and the Eurozone to
control of its common, external borders. On both the national level and the
EU-institutional level, European societies a growing part of the electorate
feels that parties and institutions have become unresponsive and irrelevant
for the needs of societies. And that should change!
At the same time, maybe the exercise of power by populists is not only an
unavoidable phase of European politics, but a necessary one. As long as
populists don’t seek to undermine the fundamentals of liberal democracy
once in power – as some populists of the right-wing are attempting to do
(Hungary) – or undermine the European Union itself – as some are
threatening a return to the old Europe of nation-states – holding power can
only expose the weaknesses and the unsustainability of their political
promises. Only time will tell“.
Also, [4][Heather Grabbe and Stefan Leehne in an article] published in
Carnegie Europe are proposing that “to respond to the growing threat of
populism the EU should engage citizens directly, refocus on their
grievances and promote tolerance and pluralism“. EU should protect its core
values and adopt new and convenient ones with the world that is changing.
Find a way to restore the lost communication with European citizens,
address and respond to their anxieties about the future; find a way to be
more attractive once again. Let the extremists talk as long as they do not
conduct criminal behavior.
As long as extremists talk there is no hidden agenda and the EU, societies,
people can find arguments to confront them. Otherwise there is hatred and
revenge. EU should also show to its citizens that “it’s on their side as
far as it concerns tax evasion, corruption and inequality and not on the
side of the political elites and big businesses, as Grabbe and Leehne
propose. Also there is the need for accountability of those responsible for
banking scandals and a coherent alternative response to the needs and the
problems of European citizens.
## The Fight
Will this fight against populism be easy? [5][Timothy Garton Ash writes:]
„We must brace ourselves for a long struggle, perhaps a generational
struggle“ against populism. He points that “the forces behind the popular
front of populism are strong, traditional parties are often weak and such
waves are not reversed overnight“…
Of course EU and citizens have to fight. And react as soon as possible.
Because [6][as Guy Verhofstadt writes], “after all we could well be one or
two national elections away from the disintegration of the EU. Let’s try
and fix it, not throw it away“. And it’s clear that people will have to
fight for that.
Dr Dimitra Makri, Journalist, PhD in International Law, member of the
Journalists Union of Macedonia and Thrace Daily Newspapers
27 Apr 2017
## LINKS
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/17/problem-populism-syri…
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/03/11/its-not-just-…
[3] http://www.politico.eu/article/how-to-beat-populism-donald-trump-brexit-ref…
[4] http://carnegieeurope.eu/2016/06/14/can-eu-survive-populism-pub-63804
[5] http://www.b92.net/eng/insight/opinions.php?yyyy=2016&mm=11&dd=11&a…
[6] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/guy-verhofstadt/europe-populism_b_13373540.…
## AUTOREN
Dimitra Makri
## TAGS
taz international
taz in English
Spotlight Populism in Europe
Populismus
Europa
Demokratie
Schwerpunkt Brexit
Populismus
taz in English
USA
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