🔗 Share this article Combating Europe's Populist Movements: Shielding the Vulnerable from the Forces of Transformation Over a year following the election that delivered Donald Trump a clear-cut comeback victory, the Democratic party has yet to released its election autopsy. But, last week, an influential progressive lobby group released its own. The Harris campaign, its authors argued, failed to connect with key voter blocs because it did not focus enough on addressing everyday financial worries. By prioritising the menace to democracy that Maga authoritarianism represented, progressives overlooked the kitchen-table concerns that were foremost in many people’s minds. A Lesson for European Capitals While Europe prepares for a tumultuous period of politics from now until the end of the decade, that is a lesson that must be fully understood in Brussels, Paris and Berlin. The White House, as its newly released national security strategy makes clear, is hopeful that “patriotic” parties in Europe will quickly replicate Mr Trump’s success. In the EU’s core nations, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) and Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) top the polls, supported by significant segments of working-class voters. But among mainstream leaders and parties, it is hard to discern a strategy that is sufficient to challenging times. Era-Defining Challenges and Costly Solutions The issues Europe faces are costly and historic. They encompass the war in Ukraine, sustaining the momentum of the green transition, addressing demographic change and developing economies that are less vulnerable to pressure by Mr Trump and China. According to a Brussels-based thinktank, the new age of geopolitical insecurity could necessitate an additional €250bn in yearly EU defence spending. A significant report last year on European economic competitiveness demanded massive investment in public goods, to be financed in part by jointly held EU debt. Such a economic transformation would stimulate growth figures that have stagnated for years. However, at both the pan-European and national levels, there remains a lack of boldness when it comes to revenue raising. The EU’s so-called “frugal” nations oppose the idea of collective borrowing, and EU spending plans for the next seven years are profoundly unambitious. In France, the idea of a wealth tax is widely supported with voters. Yet the beleaguered centrist government – though desperate to cut its budget deficit – will not consider such a move. The Cost of Inaction The reality is that in the absence of such measures, the less affluent will pay the price of financial adjustment through austerity budgets and increased inequality. Bitter recent conflicts over pension cutbacks in both France and Germany testify to a growing battle over the future of the European welfare state – a trend that the RN and the AfD have happily exploited to promote a politics of welfare chauvinism. Ms Le Pen’s party, for example, has opposed moves to raise the retirement age and has stated that it would target any benefit cuts at foreign residents. Avoiding a Political Gift for Nationalists In the US, Mr Trump’s promises to protect working-class interests were deeply disingenuous, as subsequent Medicaid cuts and fiscal benefits for the wealthy demonstrated. But without a convincing progressive counteroffer from the Harris campaign, they worked on the campaign trail. Without a radical shift in economic approach, societal agreements across the continent are in danger of being ripped up. Governments must steer clear of giving this electoral boon to the Trumpian forces already on the rise in Europe.