Monday | 7 October 2024 | Reg No- 06
বাংলা
   
Monday | 7 October 2024 | Epaper

Boris Johnson, Silvio Berlusconi and the future of populism in Europe

Published : Friday, 16 June, 2023 at 12:00 AM  Count : 604
ANDREW HAMMOND
The last week's downfall of Boris Johnson and death of Silvio Berlusconi - two of Europe's best-known and most successful populist politicians - has shone a spotlight on how much European politics has changed in the last few decades.

After taking office for the first time in 1994, Berlusconi led four nonconsecutive Italian governments, leaving the prime minister's office for the final time in 2011. As Italy's longest-serving PM, he showed a remarkable ability to bounce back from sex scandals and corruption cases and, in many ways, was a forerunner of many of Europe's populist politicians of today, including Johnson, and indeed further afield too, such as former US President Donald Trump.

Internationally, Berlusconi had strange political bedfellows, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, similar to the populists of a more recent vintage, such as Trump. As recently as October, Berlusconi was reportedly still describing Putin as a "friend," despite Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

When Berlusconi first assumed power in Italy, only a handful of key states with populations over 20 million - including Venezuela - had populist leaders. However, this then relatively small populist club expanded significantly after the onset of the 2007-08 international financial crisis, which heralded what has been called the Great Recession. The economic downturns and austerity seen in the wake of that economic tsunami was key to the rise of populism in Europe.

The biggest rise in populism across Europe and the wider world has been seen in the last decade, including Trump winning power in 2016 and Johnson doing the same in the UK in 2019. For those who prefer their political history neatly arranged, it is perhaps fitting that Johnson's political career may be ending just as Berlusconi died.

On Monday, the same day as Berlusconi's passing at the age of 86, Johnson formally submitted his resignation as an MP. The implosion of the latter's political career, for now at least, came as a damning report was about to be released into his behavior as prime minister in the midst of the pandemic, during the so-called Partygate scandal. However, Johnson, at 58, could yet stage a political comeback once the Conservatives lose power.

Despite his many flaws, the former prime minister remains very popular among Conservative Party members and it is therefore plausible that he may try to run again for the party's leadership in the future. In the last century, four people have served second periods in Downing Street after losing an election. There remains an outside possibility that Johnson might be the fifth person to achieve this.

What makes Johnson's presence so potent is that he was not turfed out of Downing Street by defeat in a national ballot. Instead, he was forced to resign after dozens of his ministers quit, which may be regretted by increasing numbers of Conservative members if the party loses power in dramatic fashion at the next general election.

For Johnson to have a serious shot at a comeback, it may also be necessary for a wider slice of the electorate to become less negative about his time in office from 2019 to 2022. For instance, an Ipsos survey released last year showed that more than half the UK public thought he was doing a bad job as prime minister, the worst rating of any postwar leader.

The fact that Johnson could yet stage a comeback despite all of his improper behavior, which would have definitively ended political careers in a different era, showcases that the era of populism is far from over.

Some data indicates that the number of populist leaders has fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic began. However, populism is still widely prevalent in Europe, as seen with the 2022 success of Giorgia Meloni in Italy. Prime Minister Meloni, a right-wing nationalist supported by Berlusconi, exemplifies how European populism tends to be of a different, conservative variety to Latin America, where left-wing populism dominates.

While leaders from different continents often have different flavors of populism, they tend to win power through common campaign tactics. This includes attacks on immigration.

Although populists can be very effective campaigners, they tend to be very poor at governing. This has been the case with Trump and Johnson, and was too with Berlusconi.

Take the example of Johnson who, despite winning a big majority in 2019, achieved very little of significance during his years in power. This includes the failure of his central vision to "level-up" the UK by increasing pay, living standards and the number of jobs in areas of the country where they are relatively low, so that all areas are more equal.

Equally, Berlusconi did not leave a legacy of great accomplishment either. His time in charge of Italy was largely spent in fruitless battles with the judiciary and media.

Yet, while the governing record of politicians like Johnson and Berlusconi has been poor, populism may only grow in appeal once again. This could be fueled by the aftermath of the pandemic, which triggered a deeper, broader global recession than even that of the 2007-08 financial crisis.

Moreover, rising economic inequality is also key. While some affluent cohorts have seen their wealth increase since the pandemic began, many poorer people have seen their incomes stagnate or worse.

So, while the respective fates of Berlusconi and Johnson may indicate the end of an era in European politics, the phenomenon of populism may yet rebound. This is despite the fact that politicians of this ilk have done so little to tackle the economic and political challenges that powered them to office.

Source: ARAB NEWS


LATEST NEWS
MOST READ
Also read
Are we prepped to face climate change?
Big push for Bangladesh to adapt to changing climate  
The unraveling of military rule in Myanmar
How to win an argument
Recognise Pakistans 1971 atrocities as genocide
Its time we diversified our export trade
Stop ecocide to gain green economy
Conservation of our wildlife is a must
Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Online: 41053014; Advertisement: 41053012.
E-mail: info©dailyobserverbd.com, news©dailyobserverbd.com, advertisement©dailyobserverbd.com, For Online Edition: mailobserverbd©gmail.com
🔝