New Right Populist Parties:
New kids on the block
New Right Populist Parties
• A family of parties which have cropped up
on the right of the political spectrum
• Different from the old extreme right
• Not necessarily opposed to liberal
democracy
• Anti-establishment, anti-EU, antiimmigrant – in many respects, antiparties.
The old right
Divided between:
• economically liberal & conservative parties
& some Christian Democratic parties
And
• Extreme right
– typically anti-democratic, racist
– Examples: Fascist parties, monarchist
parties in France…
Extreme right:
• Strong in pre-world war I and interwar
periods
• Miniscule strength in postwar period
– Authoritarianism discredited
– Parties marginalized, although some continue
• Examples:
– MSI, Italian Social Movement (Fascist)
– NPD in Germany
– FN (Front Nationale) in France
Postwar manifestations
• Poujadism (France, 1956)
– Flash party;
– Shopkeepers’ party
– Protest party
• Farmers Party (BP) Netherlands, 1960s
• Progress Party (Denmark),
– Mogens Glistrup, 1970s
• Anders Lange Party (Norway)
1980s & beyond
Resurgent support for older & newer parties:
• Front Nationale
– FN wins 10%-15% in presidential elections
– 2002 Presidential election: Le Pen in runoff.
• Freedom Party (FPÖ) in Austria – from nothing
to ~25% of the popular vote
• Lega Nord (Northern Leagues) in Italy
• Danish People’s Party
• List Pim Fortuyn (LPF) in the Netherlands
• Freedom Party (PVV) in the Netherlands
Common threads:
•
•
•
•
Anti-European Union
Anti-immigrant
Anti-establishment
Populist in style – leader-centred politics,
emphasis on leader who can fix things
Positions
• Anti…
• Often (but not always) prefer more market
& less state intervention in economic life
• But, prefer stronger state administration of
justice: stricter law enforcement, harsher
penalties.
Attitudes toward liberal
democracy
• Few parties overtly anti-democratic
• If they are, they are unwilling to say so
• Examples:
– FPÖ (Austria)
– FN (France)
Anti-establishment
Opposition to established elites
• Common theme: failure to listen to people
like us
• Finds expression in
– Use of coarse language (Bossi, Lega Nord)
– Demagoguery (Le Pen, FN)
– I can fix that (Pim Fortuyn, LPF), although
LPF not necessarily right
Explaining the new right:
• Reaction to cartelization and/or consensus
democracy?
• Mobilization of grievances?
• Representation of issues or concerns not
adequately articulated by other parties?
• Pathology?
Rise and Fall of the LPF
• Consensus democracy: the purple
coalition (PvdA + D66 + VVD)
• Livable Netherlands (LN)
• The rise of the List Pim Fortuyn (LPF)
– Pim Fortuyn
• Acerbic critic
• Unlikely or likely populist?
• After the assassination
Successes and failures
• Electoral breakthrough in several
countries, but not always right away, and
not necessarily sustained
• Difficulty in sustaining participation in
government
– Haidar & FPÖ
– List Pim Fortuyn
• But, impact on other parties
– Cf. VVD in Netherlands
General Amnesty
Blanket extension on papers
Until Monday, December 3rd
5:00 p.m.
Final exam:
Saturday, December 8th
9:00-11:00
AA1043