Fighting Populism with Progressive Answers

Project

Partners involved Policy Solutions, Táncsics, FJJ, DPZ, FES Budapest, Kalevi Sorsa, Nenni Foundation

Description

Progressive parties are in a defense position in most EU member states. From an electoral perspective, social democrats have been challenged by populist forces from both sides of the political spectrum across the continent. In Central and Eastern Europe especially, right-wing populists are the biggest contenders of social democracy and well established in their anti-European discourse and vision of illiberal democracy.

Such as context has prompted FEPS and its Hungarian member foundation Policy Solutions to create three years ago a comprehensive monitoring website on the populist trends in Europe called the Populism Tracker. The website, which is updated on a quarterly basis provides a holistic overview on the state of populism in Europe as it also brings about frequent analysis that builds on the data collected against country-specific political and socio-economic context that frame and explain either certain upturns, downturns or stagnation in populist trends.