But while progressives may take some heart from this democratic alliance in the short-term, a lot more needs to be done than simply oppose. To win, democratic mainstream parties have to develop a new radical centrism. They need an injection of fresh ideas, fresh faces and a willingness to act on voters’ priorities with courage and pragmatism.
Without such a renewal of political leadership, without bringing politicians closer to the people they serve — through citizens’ assemblies and other forms of deliberative democracy — trust in established politics will only continue to wither. And centrist parties, which wrongly believe a majority of voters have changed their values, risk participating in a race to the bottom, pandering to extreme policies in a misguided attempt to woo them back.
This is doomed to fail. Such an approach will only help national populists by leaving their ideas unchallenged. And most importantly, it runs the risk of making mainstream parties a pale imitation of their opponents, distracting from their real mission: Offering ambitious and intelligent policies that will connect with the electorate.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s current woes should be a lesson to his centrist peers. Earlier this year, in an attempt to woo National Rally voters, his government passed a heavily criticized immigration law with votes from the far-right party — legislation that opposition leader Marine Le Pen called an “ideological victory.” And having now presided over a governmental shift to the right, Macron is viewed negatively by an overwhelming majority.
Centrists must avoid this type of thinking, assuming the issues national populists are obsessed with are also of utmost importance in the minds of voters. Though centrist parties often neglect the priorities of voters, in most countries, the issues the public cares about most are everyday concerns — the cost of living, health care and economic opportunities — and these tend to be more important vote drivers.
At the same time, in order to succeed, centrist parties need to expose the woeful track record of national populist parties in countries where they’ve exerted political power. Let’s take Poland: The policies of the country’s nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) — such as a near total ban on abortion — were so polarizing, even many conservative voters could no longer support them, and the party was thrown out of office last October. After almost a decade in power, it was defeated by a mobilization of voters around core liberal values.
But again, PiS’s opponents benefited from powerful youth-driven social movements that rallied against national populists. In truth, mainstream centrists owe their success in recent European elections to this values-based energy — not their policy programs. And elected centrist parties must act quickly to repay this debt by getting on board with the process of renewal. They can’t rely on these movements indefinitely. They need to create their own political momentum while there’s still time.
Voters aren’t necessarily wedded to extremes, some are simply yearning to be heard, and to have a representative and inclusive government that matches rhetoric with action. The future of democratic politics hinges on established parties from the center left to the center right restoring voter trust through a renewed centrist approach — something that requires genuine commitment to institutional renewal, humble engagement with the electorate and reaffirming the foundational values of liberal democracy.
