Author of the book “What is populism?”, Which is considered a “Gospel” for those involved in political science, as well as other important monographs for, populism and the relationship of leadership and electorate, by the German University Jan-Verner MillerProfessor of Social and Political Science at Princeton University in, is one of the most vigorous and at the same time calm voices in the world in the field of democratic theory and analysis of populism.
In a “The Vima” conversation, held in the wake of the murder of the super -conservative activist, Miller stresses that political polarization in the US, despite all the peculiarities that accompany his face, is not a new reality for the country. At the same time, it “exacerbates” the logic of an inevitable populist wave and refers to existing challenges that can and must be answered in a programmatically consistent manner.
According to Miller, the imitation of its style and political priorities is a deadly risk to the institutional center -right of the European continent, while the strengthening of extreme voices should not be considered some kind of law due to extrinsic factors, but more related to the particular policies of each country.
Charlie Kerk’s assassination is accompanied by the concern that Trump and the far -right will use it to impose their agenda against liberal and leftist forces. Are you afraid that today in the US a limit for political tolerance can be exceeded?
“This limit you are describing has been overcome long ago, decades ago. Specifically, in the 1990s, New Gingrich, then Speaker of the House and de facto leader of the Republican Party, demonized his political opponents first by describing them as “traitors”.
What we see today was not inevitable, but we should also not pretend that before Donald Trump everything was normal. What is new today, the element that differentiates things is the use of state power to intimidate or even the immediate suppression of freedom of speech in private institutions. “
You have been referred to clockwise and left -wing populism. We see a dominance of the first one. Is this development related to the Trump phenomenon and what is the role played by the conservative elites?
“One of the few powerful conclusions of political science is that when the center -right elites mimic the far -right, the far -right is the one to win. The rhetoric of the far -right is legalized and citizens often end up choosing the original instead of the pale copy.
In addition, many of these far -right parties were never in power, so they appear as the best means of expression of protest and anti -systemicity.
However, the center -right continues to make the same mistake over and over again – thirty and more recent example the federal election in Germany during the pre -election election. “
We recently watched a large anti -immigration gathering in London. In Japan, the super -conservative Sansaito recorded large electoral profits. Melon is in power in Italy and France, the National Coalition is the largest party -based party. Can the rise of the popularity of the far -right parties can stop politically and if so, how?
“Everything you mention is a serious challenge, but we must also assume that there is somehow an inevitable ‘populist wave’. Melon won, but what happened to Salvini? Overall, the right block in Italy is actually weaker than it was before. But this is just a secondary element that concerns the correlation of forces.
The key thing to contain is that those politicians who want to oppose the far -right must talk to the agenda she puts on with the far -right, but not speak like this. That is: those who are against her must respond to political challenges, of course, but not adopt the political context that the far -right puts. Those who tried to copy its positions and methods – repeatedly – destructive results. “
What are the deeper causes for the popularity of far -right parties? Some analysts tend to emphasize the abandonment of the working class and its concerns on the Left, others tend to emphasize the division of identity policies. What is your opinion on the subject?
“A very complicated question and of course his answer is still under investigation and study. Different national contexts are important. There is no necessarily a global reason for rising far -right, populist parties. I agree that many working class voters have abandoned social democratic parties, but, unlike what you hear very often, it is not true that a large number of workers has moved to the far right.
On the contrary, they stopped completely coming to the polls. But the issue is not just a structural issue: the far -right has become very skilled in the cultural war, while at the same time being convinced by many citizens that the Left is the one that sows divisions. Again: There are structural factors that enhance it – such as globalization and the deregulation it has created, obviously. But the regular and strategic choices of the elites are also of great importance. “
