It is clear that we are living in a period of crisis. After years of economic growth, it is hard to swallow the ongoing global recessions. There are never-ending wars being fought, and oil prices are fluctuating enormously. All these issues create a great soil for growing political unrest. People are subjected to stress and uncertainties. People lose respect the institutions as political parties, legislatures, and courts. In our consumerist world, people easily think that the institutions are not ‘delivering the goods’. So, people need to go elsewhere to find solutions to their daily problems.
Vincente Fox
As history repeatedly shows us, during moments of crisis, we seek a strong and charismatic leader. Populist leaders are typically charismatic, dynamic and outspoken, usually handsome/beautiful or compelling, and easily make use of this unrest. Western Europe is now home to many populists, and at the same time the Central and Eastern European countries provide the perfect environment for rising populism.
Populism cannot be considered as an absolute good or bad; it depends greatly on the leaders who receive this heightened sense of trust from voters. Typical populists are late Pim Fortuyn (Netherlands), Jean Marie Le Pen (France), and Jorg Haider (Austria), but also Thaksin Shinawatra (Thailand), Hugo Chavez (Venezuela). We do need to pay attention, though, because we all know what happened as a result of the last burst of populism, which was in the 1920s and 1930s when Benito Mussolini came into the Italian political scene and Adolf Hitler emerged in Germany.
John Updike
Populist movements can be forebearers for fascist movements through ideological appeals to the prejudices and emotions of the population, scapegoating, and forming of conspiracies. History has proven already that populism can dramatically change political environments, as it is changing in Europe at the moment. In the 1930s people were caught unaware because they believed in democracy after the War to End all Wars (World War I) was fought.
In which way are we heading now? What will become of democracy? And will you vote for a Populist leader?
