Europe's Center-Left Under Pressure as the Economic Crisis Drags On

The economic crisis is reshaping Europe's political and ideological landscape. The nationalist right is becoming more populist, criticizing the European Union and the political elites that back it and rejecting immigration. Center-right parties are afraid of losing votes to their competitors on the right, so they are adopting elements from the nationalists' agenda. Center-left parties are facing an identity crisis because they traditionally have defended deeper European integration and the expansion of the welfare state. With both of these concepts in crisis, progressive parties are struggling to adapt to the new social and political environment in Europe. The far right and center-right will continue attracting voters. As a result, domestic pressures to leave the common currency and adopt new barriers to immigration and free trade are likely to grow in the coming years.