On France Info: The rise of populism in Europe

While the refugee crisis is now a thing of the past, the identity passions it has raised are now fuelling the rise of populism in Western countries. Yves Bertoncini, President of the European Movement – France, was on France Info alongside Jacques Rupnik, Research Director at CERI of Sciences Po, to decipher this phenomenon.

Yves Bertoncini explains that Western peoples are in a moment of withdrawal: “They have long been at the centre of the world, but they see that, economically, financially and demographically, they are no longer dominant”. For him, this situation “creates a dull identity anxiety that has exacerbated the refugee crisis”. However, the President of the European Movement points out that this crisis is behind us but that its effects are being felt because “Europe’s horizon is to be confronted more and more with a multicultural world that suits the majority of Europeans but that angers the others”.

Was the rise of populism caused by the 2008 economic crisis?
Yves Bertoncini confirmed that this was indeed the most serious economic crisis since the 1929 crisis, but pointed out that some countries had more developed social protection systems than others, which limited the damage. On the other hand, he recalled that “Europe has had great difficulty in getting States and peoples to agree to help Greece or Ireland“. This situation has resulted in the development of two populisms, according to Yves Bertoncini: “On the one hand those who did not want to be in solidarity with the Greeks and on the other hand the refusal of migratory solidarity”.

The President of the European Movement – France underlines that in this crisis, Europe has been a loser on both sides. Although it did what was necessary, “as Europe’s financial solidarity was granted with counterparts, this generated anti-Austerity Euroscepticism”.

The development of social Europe, a means of fighting nationalism?
Yves Bertoncini explains that in reality, social policy must first work at national level, even if the European Union proposes a social foundation: “There are basic rules on labour law and the protection of workers“. However, he notes that there is an imbalance, because when the European Union causes social damage it is prevented from repairing it. He takes as an example the globalisation adjustment fund against which some countries such as Germany or the northern countries are fighting “because they consider that they have a social model that is correct”.