Populism has ‘Trumped’ the Progressive Movement
Populism has become the new political fad, driven by slow economic growth and negative sentiment towards immigration
AfD supporters march with a poster showing German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, May 27, 2018. Credit AP
The latter half of the 2010s saw a lot of political change. In 2016, millions of Americans, feeling isolated, unheard, and generally dissatisfied with the political elites and “deep state,” voted Donald Trump into office and, with it, put the U.S on an anti-globalist right-wing populist path.
The 2016 Election had a domino effect on the rest of the world. In 2018, the AFD (right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Germany) saw a record-breaking turnout, becoming recognized in all 17 German states. This right-wing success culminated with German Chancellor Angela Merkel announcing that she would not seek reelection. Today, the AFD holds the second most seats in the Bundestag with 151behind the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
German Parlemint Seating Distribution on 6/5/25
(© German Bundestag)
In 2022, the Italians elected Giorgia Meloni leader of the party “Brothers of Italy” and the first woman to hold the office of prime minister. Meloni has been described as xenophobic and Islamophobic by some critics for supporting a naval blockade to halt illegal immigration to the country. Immigration has been one of the main components in the rise of modern populism…especially in Europe. Immigration goes hand in hand with economics, and in most Western European countries like Germany and Italy, there are substantial welfare systems (some states spending upwards of 30% of GDP), and immigration can stress these systems. This challenge, coupled with possible job loss due to immigration and general cultural preservation, has boosted negative sentiment towards immigration in many Western countries.
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni at a campaign rally . Creator: ANDREAS SOLARO | Credit: AFP via Getty Images
Record foreign debt interest payments, tax evasion, and capital flight resulted in a balance of payments crisis that plagued Argentina with severe stagflation for decades. All of this suffering in Argentina and the public's discontent with how things were being handled paved the way for political outsider Javier Melei to assume the presidency in a runoff election. Melei promised to tear apart the existing Argentine society and replace it with a free-market based on liberal values. Shattering the life of the elites and attempting to restore the quality of life of the “everyday citizen.”
Argentine President Javier Milei at the UN General Assembly
Olga Fedorova/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
As explained, populism has grown rapidly over the last ten years in both the Americas and Europe. It has replaced the progressive movement as the political fad. Looking at the United States, a large chunk of the voting population, older, rural, or working-class voters, believe that current (or now past) politicians focused too much on issues they deemed niche, such as immigration and climate policy, rather than economic or practical concerns, which have been hurting them since the pandemic in 2020. Conservative parties around the world, and specifically the Republicans in the U.S., have successfully made progressives like Pelosi and AOC look elitist, globalist, or out of touch. Leaders like Giorgia Meloni, Marine Le Pen of France, Viktor Orbán of Hungary, and even Donald Trump have recast nationalism and traditionalism as defenders of “common people” values.
This all being said, progressivism is not dead; its ideals are still strong with young, urban liberal populations. Populism and nationalism haven't been this strong around the world since the 1940s. But trends have shown us that it doesn't last forever. When people feel that there is no immediate crisis and things are going well in their country, they have the liberty to focus on progressive social ideas. But right now, increasing immigration, slow economic growth, and heightening conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have many on edge.
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