A key factor in the advance of the Right is said to be the way, like former British prime minister Tony Blair, it has stolen its opponents’ political clothes and launched a determined occupation of the center ground where most voters live. To this end, center-right parties such as Merkel’s Christian Democrats endorse “socialized” healthcare, welfare benefits, industry bailouts and environmental causes, while simultaneously promising prudent, cost-effective governance and lower taxes.
Katinka Barysch of the Center for European Reform said that, broadly speaking, Europeans primarily wanted “economic competence” in their leaders. But this did not necessarily translate into support for the Right, she said.
“People are not in revolutionary mood, but at the same time, they have no particular trust in any particular party or political force ... there is a sense of realism about what is possible. If somebody promises more, they don’t believe it. They’re looking for the tried and tested,” she said.
As usual, EU holdout Norway seems impervious to continental trends. In polls last month, Labour party leader and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg won a notable re-election victory. His achievement may be linked to Norway’s oil and gas riches. In Oslo, it seems, their biggest problem is what to do with the US$400 billion surplus currently stuffed in the nation’s offshore piggy bank. Now there’s a dilemma.
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