Across Europe, populism
is expressing itself as one of the most powerful social forces across the
continent. Consider the 2016 "Brexit"
vote in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, or the election
results in Italy earlier this year, which
installed a government highly skeptical of the EU. In Central Europe,
meanwhile, populists lead governments in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, stoking fears of
a widening split in the union.
Worries that populism
will sweep aside most governments in Western Europe, however, may be premature,
according to the results of a public opinion studyreleased
on Thursday by the Pew Research Center. While people with anti-establishment
sympathies remain frustrated with traditional institutions, ideological
differences along the left-right political divide still carry more weight,
according to the Pew report, which was conducted in eight Western European
nations.
The goal of the study
was to learn more about how people interpret various issues and institutions,
and whether populist ideas are disrupting traditional politics, says Laura
Silver, a senior researcher at Pew and one of the report's co-authors.
"Even though
populist parties are somewhat popular among people who have anti-establishment
views, (they) still are not particularly popular with the public as a
whole," Silver says.
People holding populist
views are frustrated with traditional institutions, such as their government,
banks, the EU and the news media, the report said. At the same time, the
majority of the people surveyed in Western Europe say membership in the EU has
had a positive impact on their nation's economy, a view Pew detected last year during the rise
of populism across Europe.
Despite strong support
for the EU, more than half of people surveyed in the eight countries say they
want some EU powers to be shifted back to their countries. That view is
widespread in the U.K.
The Pew survey was
conducted from Oct. 30 to Dec. 20 of last year in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the U.K., a group that
accounts for 70 percent of the EU's population and 75 percent of the
organization's economy. A total of 16,114 adults were polled, about 2,000 in
each country.
People were asked
questions that touched on the economy, social issues, immigration and the EU.
They also were asked where they place themselves on the political ideological
spectrum, and their views on populist ideas.
Among other significant
findings in the Pew report:
- Western Europeans expressing populist views are
more concerned than others polled that immigrants will increase the risk
of terror attacks in their countries.
- Most Western Europeans say immigrants improve
their country's economy and want immigrants to adopt the customs and
traditions of their new country.
- Populist groups tend to be less economically
well-off and less educated than mainstream organizations.
- Strong support was expressed in seven of the
eight countries examined for allowing members of the LGBT community to adopt children.
Only in Italy did less than half of the people surveyed – 42 percent –
express some degree of support on the issue.
- More than half of people surveyed across Western
Europe say family life is better when women have full-time jobs. Countries
where the strongest support was expressed include Sweden, Denmark, Spain
and France.
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