April 16, 2020
The Coronavirus Is Exposing Populists’ Hollow Politics
At first, the spread of the coronavirus seemed like a boon for Europe’s populists. In Italy, Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League party, used COVID-19 to advance his xenophobia. Salvini circulated a video of a migrant ship arriving in Italy, falsely implying that migrants were responsible for the outbreak. Along with other far-right leaders in Europe, Salvini also used Europe’s border closures as another opportunity to vilify the European Union and its commitment to the free movement of people.
Yet the continuing crisis is having the opposite effect—it’s exposing Salvini’s shortcomings and undermining many of the drivers that fueled his support. Since the start of the pandemic, Salvini’s public support has fallen to its lowest point since July 2018. But rather than ushering in gains for Italy’s more centrist, mainstream parties, Brothers of Italy—a party to the right of even Salvini’s League, with ties to fascism—has gained in the polls.
Read the full article in Foreign Policy.
More from CNAS
-
Republicans Saved Democracy Once. Will They Do It Again?
Commentary
Despite different political and historical contexts, the playbook these personalist leaders use to dismantle democracy has been identical....
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Joseph Wright & Erica Frantz
-
Exploiting Russian Weakness
Reports
Introduction Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has created ripple effects that extend well beyond Ukraine’s borders. Reverberations from the war have been particularly p...
By Nicholas Lokker & Andrea Kendall-Taylor
-
NATO Public Forum: The Axis of Upheaval
Video
During the NATO Public Forum, CNAS hosted a panel discussion that featured David Shullman, senior director of Global China Hub for the Atlantic Council, Benedetta Berti, head ...
By David Shullman
-
Richard Fontaine and Hal Brands Discuss the Axis of Upheaval
Podcast
The effects of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine are reverberating far beyond Ukraine’s borders. Perhaps most fundamentally, Putin’s invasion has catalyzed deepening cooperation...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Richard Fontaine & Hal Brands
