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The populist revolution sweeping across much of Europe is not a temporary phenomenon, even though some of its protagonists might be considered so.
The rise of figures like Marine Le Pen (who seems destined to power in France), Giorgia Meloni or Nigel Farage (who this week overtook the Conservatives in a British poll) is based on a tectonic movement that is changing the face of European politics, not to mention the rest of the Western world.
Looking back, with the objectivity that time allows, we can understand that the roots of this phenomenon are two events that largely defined the first half of the 21st century. On the one hand, the triumph of globalization and the liberal model, especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the entry of China into the World Trade Organization. The working class and the lower middle class of European countries have been greatly punished in this process, and it is no coincidence that the main focus of Marine Le Pen, along with the issue of immigration, is the fight against globalization.
The second event that created the problems we are seeing now is of course the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath, including the intervention of the Troika in Portugal and other countries, which destroyed the trust of large sections of the population in the traditional political parties.
However, this is not the first time that our Europe has faced such challenges, and we can learn from past experiences. Populism and extremism can only be defeated if the problems that give rise to them are addressed.
Seventy years ago, Western Europe responded to the Soviet threat by creating a system that combined economic freedom with a degree of state intervention and redistributive policies. This is the so-called European social model, which owes much to the social teachings of the Church and social democracy. Of course, times have changed, and it is possible to implement this system as the European economy is in the so-called “glorious 30 years” of strong growth.
But it is certain that it was in this way, by improving people’s living conditions and reducing inequalities, that the West presented to its own masses an economic and social model that left the Soviet Union on the path that – even if it had many true admirers in Western Europe in the 1950s and 1960s – as a very weak alternative.
If the Democrats want to overcome the totalitarian tendencies that are emerging in Europe, they must learn the lessons of the past and draw on the moderation and wisdom of the leaders who rebuilt a Europe that had just emerged from war and protected it from totalitarian temptations.
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