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Populism in the party system in Germany and the Netherlands, by Paul Lucardie

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Concluding remarks

How can the different fortunes of German and Dutch populists be explained? First, the Dutch electoral system makes it easier for parties to enter parliament: it is easier to mobilise 66,000 voters than 2,400,000. Second, the political culture and the party system in the Netherlands were – at least until recently - more consensus-oriented and less polarised than in Germany. Although it was not easy to break through this consensus, especially with respect to taboo issues like the multi-cultural society or nationalism, when this did succeed a large electoral potential opened up as a result. Fortuyn succeeded because he had enough charisma. The German populists, Schill, Brunner, Schlierer, Frey and Voigt obviously lack it, at least to the same extent. In addition, they have nearly all had to compete with one another whereas in 2002 Fortuyn had no competitors. For Wilders the situation in 2006 was not as simple but he was able to exploit his fame and "martyrdom” effectively. In addition, his then still unblemished party stood firmly behind him, whereas his competitors, the Pim Fortuyn List and the formations which had broken away from it, were hobbled by their divided past. The same is probably true of many right-wing populist parties in Germany. They will therefore probably continue to remain in the political wilderness, whereas their sister parties in the Netherlands have just come in from the cold.

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Further articles on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Germany, » Netherlands
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