Recent crises have discredited political institutions. The economic crisis has raised doubts about the capacity of governments to manage the markets. The crisis in political representation - from British MPs' expenses scandal to the fuss over Berlusconi's relationship with minors - has left many people disaffected and disenchanted with their elected representatives. But these sentiments have not given birth to anything new. Anti-establishment figures will continue to emerge but only as charismatic individuals, not as embodiments of new political ideas. This was the lesson of Declan Ganley's European crusade. There is no European lurch to the right. There is an entrenchment of populism as the new political opposition in Europe - but one that remains devoid of political ideas, unable to transform people's anger and mistrust of the establishment into a new political vision or programme.
Recent crises have discredited political institutions. The economic crisis has raised doubts about the capacity of governments to manage the markets. The crisis in political representation - from British MPs' expenses scandal to the fuss over Berlusconi's relationship with minors - has left many people disaffected and disenchanted with their elected representatives. But these sentiments have not given birth to anything new. Anti-establishment figures will continue to emerge but only as charismatic individuals, not as embodiments of new political ideas. This was the lesson of Declan Ganley's European crusade.
There is no European lurch to the right. There is an entrenchment of populism as the new political opposition in Europe - but one that remains devoid of political ideas, unable to transform people's anger and mistrust of the establishment into a new political vision or programme.
