Twenty-First Century Populism: The Spectre of Western European ...

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Germany 131 nouncements. For this reason, it seemed initially as though the former judge was destined to enter the ranks of Europe’s successful right-wing populists (Faas and Wüst, 2002). Only a few weeks after its triumph in Hamburg, however, the Schill Party saw its high-flown political ambitions begin to fall to earth. Its attempt to expand into a national organization fell victim to the same problems that had plagued the Statt-Partei back in 1994, i.e. gatecrashers from the far Right, a lack of professionalism in its political activities and internal strife. Moreover, Schill failed to broaden his political programme, even though the issue of law and order would certainly have served as a bridge to a broader right-wing political platform. What finished the party off, however, was its decision to take office in the Government of the City-State of Hamburg, which caused a massive loss of credibility among its supporters and mercilessly exposed the incompetence of its fledgling politicians (Hartleb, 2004). Here too, the fate of the Statt-Partei should have served as a warning to Schill. Very few right-wing populists have managed to make the transition from strong opposition to the pressures of government. Schill should never have tried. The escapades of the raw recruit in the office of Senator for the Interior are legendary. Not only did they see his popularity rapidly slip away, with the CDU dissolving the governing coalition after a year and a half, but they also led his own party and parliamentary group to distance themselves from their former figurehead. The break-up of the party and its debacle at the polls when the new state assembly was elected were the inevitable consequence. Populist competition from the Left: the PDS and the new Left Party The unification of the two German states meant that an additional party was able to establish itself on the federal stage after 1990: the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), successor to the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), the official state party of the GDR. In the light of the poor election results of the SED/PDS immediately after unification, most observers assumed that the former Communists would disappear sooner or later from the party-political landscape. This assumption, however, proved to be mistaken. Instead, the PDS went from strength to strength in the new federal states, constantly expanding its voter base. Today, in the territory of the former GDR, it enjoys wide recognition as a major party, polling only slightly lower than the CDU and SPD. Given the background to its creation, its internal heterogeneity and its ambivalent attitude to the prevailing democratic political system and free market economy, it would be wrong to label the PDS as an entirely extremist or left-wing populist party (Gapper, 2003). Nevertheless, in its methods and style, as well as in its ideology and political programme, the party has much
132 Twenty-First Century Populism in common with the anti-democratic forces on the Right. Anti-elite protest gestures, a high media profile thanks to its charismatic leadership, the pursuit of social protectionism and the cultivation of a feisty image are the main ingredients in its recipe for success. At the same time, in eastern Germany, the PDS presents itself as a pragmatic force which plays a constructive role in political decision-making and is part of governing coalitions in various municipalities and federal states. Electoral analyses reveal that most of the voters wooed by the PDS belong to the same group of ‘modernization victims’ from which the parties of the Right also draw their support (Schoen and Falter, 2005: 37–38). What motivates these electors when casting their vote is a profound dissatisfaction with their own situation, for which they blame the prevailing political and social conditions. In this respect, the existence of a left-wing protest party which operates as a champion of the East has damaged the prospects of far Right parties in the new Länder. The PDS has not been able to curb rightwing extremism completely, because the far Right also draws on dyed-inthe-wool xenophobic voters, who are largely immune to the appeals of the former Communists, who take left-wing views on cultural issues. It is not impossible for this divide to be crossed on occasion, as was demonstrated by Oskar Lafontaine’s remarks on immigration policy during the national election campaign in 2005 − when he referred to immigrants as Fremdarbeiter or alien workers, a term that was used by the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s − which provoked fierce criticism from the ranks of his own party. The former SPD chairman, however, is probably right in thinking that there is no reason why the successful formula of culturally underpinned social protest should be the sole preserve of right-wing populists (Decker, 2006: 22 onwards). There can be no escaping the fact, however, that the success of the leftwing populism practised by the PDS has been entirely confined to the new Länder over the past decade and a half. However much the reformist forces around Gregor Gysi and Lothar Bisky have tried to make the former Communists socially acceptable in the old West Germany, their efforts have been in vain. It took the emergence of a new left-wing force in the West, which was set up under the name of the Election Alternative for Work and Social Justice (Wahlalternative für Arbeit und soziale Gerechtigkeit – WASG) − in protest at the welfare and labour-market reforms of the SPD-led Federal Government − to bring the PDS closer to its long-cherished aim. It was also certainly a stroke of good fortune that, in Gregor Gysi and Oskar Lafontaine, who had left the SPD to join the WASG, the parties had two front men who were past masters of the populist approach to voters. More important, however, was the fact that, in strategic terms, an alliance between the PDS and the WASG represented a classic ‘win-win’ situation. The westward extension of its voter base enabled the PDS to stabilize its role in federal politics. In turn, the WASG benefited from being carried into the Bundestag on the
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Editorial matter, selection, introd
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viii Contents 12 Britain: Imperial
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Acknowledgements The original conce
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xii Notes on Contributors Bollati B
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13 The Republic of Ireland: The Dog
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Bibliography Akkerman, T. Anti-immi
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226 Bibliography BNP (2005) Rebuild
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228 Bibliography Dahl, R. A. (1999)
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230 Bibliography Germani, G. (1975)
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232 Bibliography Ivaldi, G. Le Fron
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234 Bibliography Lehingue, P. (2003
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236 Bibliography Mazzoleni, G. (200
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238 Bibliography Pelinka, A. (2005)
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240 Bibliography Schedler, A. Anti-
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242 Bibliography Trechsel, A. H. (2
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246 Index Chirac, Jacques 58, 168,
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248 Index Jagers, Jan 58 Jansson, M
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250 Index Plato 200 Poland 62, 120
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