Matthew Goodwin made his remarks in the wake of new Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s inauguration following a deal with the country’s right wing Freedom Party (FPO), led by Heinze-Christian Strache – and took the opportunity to point out that it was a situation which was being replicated over much of the continent.
He said: “This is not the first time that the Freedom Party has joined government. Seventeen years ago, and amid some of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, the party stunned the world by joining a similar coalition with the centre-Right.
“Outraged, the EU slapped diplomatic sanctions on the small Alpine country and demanded an inquiry to ensure that human rights were being protected.
“But today we will see no such reaction, largely because the EU is in a much weaker position.”
Mr Goodwin – currently Professor of Politics in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent – argued that populists such as Mr Kurz and new vice-chancellor Mr Strache were simply tapping into sentiments which had been largely overlooked for decades.
He said: “The populist and centre-right are thriving because they understand that voters are not solely concerned about GDP and economic growth.”
It was wishful thinking to believe Emmanuel Macron’s election as French President, and consequent defeat of the National Front’s Marine Le Pen, earlier this year represented a revival for liberalism and a significant defeat for populism, he said, adding: “Austria’s sharp rightward turn is merely a symptom of a much broader challenge to the EU that is deep and growing.
“Like Kurz and Strache, across the continent an assortment of conservative, Eurosceptic and populist parties are seeking to take control of the EU project and push it in a fundamentally different direction, if not bring it down altogether.
“The Freedom Party’s success is not unique. It joins a growing list of populist Right parties that are part of, or supporting, governments in Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Slovakia, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland.
“Like Kurz and Strache in Austria, such parties are winning over voters, both young and old, who oppose further EU enlargement, are intensely angry about Angela Merkel’s handling of the refugee crisis, and anxious about mass immigration and Islamist terrorism.”
Nor was this likely to change in the near future, Mr Goodwin said, with elections in Italy and Hungary – where Prime Minister Viktor Orban has taken a tough stance on immigration –next year likely to provide strong mandates to parties which want fewer refugees, stronger borders and to wrestle back powers from the EU.
By contrast, the Left had failed to grasp that these voters were concerned about national value, communities and ways of life.
Mr Goodwin said: “They feel that these are under threat, whether from refugees, rapid ethnic changes, the EU or distant and uncaring elites.
“This is something that neither the EU nor the Left can accept, largely because they mistakenly believe that all of this is merely a by-product of economic scarcity rather than a legitimate concern in its own right. Until they do we can expect to see more events like those we are witnessing in Austria.”