Ariadna Ripoll Servent
The presence of populist governments in European Union policy-making has been largely ignored. Ariadna Ripoll Servent and Natascha Zaun argue that we should pay attention to populists’ behaviour in the Council of the EU. Populist governments do not play by the normal rules of the game; rather, they use ‘unpolitics’. This destructive approach to policy-making was instrumental in blocking a reform of EU migration politics Read more
Mattia Zulianello
Mattia Zulianello and Petra Guasti explore and rebut three die-hard myths about populism. This, they argue, on the one hand guards against overestimating populism as a phenomenon. On the other, it warns that we must not underestimate the political strength of the so-called populist radical right Read more
Dario Mazzola
By the time Italians went to the polls in September, the victory of Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party was a foregone conclusion. Dario Mazzola articulates the factors that led to the formation of the most right-wing government in the history of the Italian Republic Read more
Massimo D'Angelo
On 21 October 2022, Giorgia Meloni became the first female Italian Prime Minister. She is also the head of the most right-wing government in the history of the Republic. Massimo D’Angelo explores the implications for Italy’s foreign policy and European outlook, as well as the lure of authoritarianism in some European governments Read more
Giovanni Capoccia
The Italian right, led by the Brothers of Italy, is likely to be in government after the September 2022 elections. Despite its public statements expressing ‘full support’ for the European integration process, Giovanni Capoccia says that there are good reasons to question the exact nature of this commitment and what it means Read more
Kai Oppermann
Post-Brexit, support for EU referendums persists in the party systems of most EU member states. Kai Oppermann finds that this support mainly comes from Eurosceptic opposition parties, often on the populist far-right, and that the Brexit effect on party positions has been relatively weak and uneven Read more
Giovanni Capoccia
Giovanni Capoccia argues that the 2022 French Presidential elections could constitute a greater threat to the EU than any current challenge. Although unlikely at present, a Eurosceptic French President would precipitate the greatest crisis in the EU’s history – and there is still much to play for Read more
Emilia Palonen
The Finns Party elected a new leader this weekend. The baton passed from Jussi Halla-aho to his radical right-hand woman Riikka Purra. This, writes Emilia Palonen, is a move that consolidates the Finns as a party of illiberal right-wingers Read more
The Loop
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