The article discusses the consequences that recent international crises, in particular the Covid-19 pandemic, are having on populist parties, in particular populist radical right parties (PRRPs) and the so-called "elite system". Numerous analyses currently do provide a rather simplistic, black-and-white, read of European politics, signaling discontinuity from the pre-pandemic period. According to these, populist parties would be the "great losers of Covid-19", while elites (especially epistemic elites, but not only) would have benefited from such a situation by regaining a kind of lost legitimacy. In our paper we attempt to consider this framework by recalling that - especially as regards the European Union - it is undeniable that tensions exist in the elite-people relationship, and these are very significant in relation to (a) the relationship between far-right and populism and (b) the mainstreaming dynamic of the radical and extreme right. While recognizing a background modified by the pandemic and some significant transformations occurred in specific contexts, we advise to avoid imprudent conclusions while not overlooking the actual changes taking place.
Campati, A., Bruno, V. A., Tornano le élite, scompaiono i populisti. Ipotesi “imprudenti” sul futuro dell’Unione europea, <<FUTURI>>, 2022; (2): 19-28 [https://hdl.handle.net/10807/231285]
Tornano le élite, scompaiono i populisti. Ipotesi “imprudenti” sul futuro dell’Unione europea
Campati, Antonio;Bruno, Valerio Alfonso
2022
Abstract
The article discusses the consequences that recent international crises, in particular the Covid-19 pandemic, are having on populist parties, in particular populist radical right parties (PRRPs) and the so-called "elite system". Numerous analyses currently do provide a rather simplistic, black-and-white, read of European politics, signaling discontinuity from the pre-pandemic period. According to these, populist parties would be the "great losers of Covid-19", while elites (especially epistemic elites, but not only) would have benefited from such a situation by regaining a kind of lost legitimacy. In our paper we attempt to consider this framework by recalling that - especially as regards the European Union - it is undeniable that tensions exist in the elite-people relationship, and these are very significant in relation to (a) the relationship between far-right and populism and (b) the mainstreaming dynamic of the radical and extreme right. While recognizing a background modified by the pandemic and some significant transformations occurred in specific contexts, we advise to avoid imprudent conclusions while not overlooking the actual changes taking place.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.