Geert Wilders has been described as the Dutch Donald Trump. Earlier this month his far-right Freedom Party pulled off a surprise election victory in the Netherlands. Following Mr Wilder's win, we're looking at what’s driving right-wing populism in Europe. Italy has a right-wing populist prime minister. In Hungary there's Viktor Orban - prime minister since 2010 - with his particular brand of nationalist populism, and in Finland the far-right Finns party is now part of the governing coalition. Are some of the factors that secured Geert Wilders’ win also what is helping other right-wing populists in Europe? In a European context, does right-wing populism differ from far-rights politics ? Why are parts of Europe drifting right? What are the factors behind this? What’s driving right-wing populism in Europe and what does it mean for the continent?Shaun Ley is joined by:Catherine Fieschi, a comparative political analyst specialising in populism, far right and authoritarian politics and a Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre at the European University Institute in Florence.
Stanley Pignal, The Economist's Brussels bureau chief and writes their Charlemagne column on Europe.
Sanne van Oosten, a political scientist at the University of Oxford, Centre on Migration, Policy and Society.Also featuring:
A 2016 BBC interview with Geert WildersProduced by Max Horberry and Ellen Otzen(Photo: Dutch far-right politician and leader of the PVV party Geert Wilders reacts as he meets the press after elections in which the PVV won the most seats, in The Hague, Netherlands, November 24, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo)