Europe, the Rise of Populism

They pretend to speak in the name of “the people,” cleverly embracing widespread expectations. To each issue, they invariably offer the same answers: Down with immigration, the European Union, and the elites. Whether it is Marine Le Pen in France, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Beppe Grillo in Italy, the leaders of these political movements have managed to capture the allegiance of increasing numbers of citizens, relying on punchy catchphrases and simplistic rhetoric that have helped them build respectable façades. Some of them have joined forces on the European scale to conquer the EU Parliament. Are they really on their way to power? An investigation into the workings of blooming forms of extremism.