Social democracy loses ground throughout Europe

Social democracy is blurred throughout Europe. The austerity policies that they applied — also — socialist governments and the emergence of populist options on the political map have pushed the voter away from the moderate left. Only Portugal seems to escape that curse, which in a few years has ousted the Socialists from power in the major EU countries. To retrieve it, those leftist parties rehearse a difficult balance that allows them to leave the land of no one they live in. is to distance itself from conservative policies without falling into the antisystem rhetoric. The traditional red color of the social-democratic dyed recently a good part of the European hard core. France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands had in their executives (in solitary or in coalition) to progressive forces. After the hurricane of the Great Recession and the migratory crisis, from the great countries there is only Italy. But the prospects for the future of this executive were very much touched after the referendum lost by former prime Minister Matteo Renzi in 2016. And the 5-star, Antieuro and populist movement, gains it in voting intent, although its results were defrauded in the last municipal elections. Something further away from that group of founding countries resists Austria, although the forecasts suggest that the Social Democrats, heavily burdened by the refugee crisis, may lose power in the October 15 elections. They are also maintained — with swings — Sweden and two executives for which European Socialists avoid breastfeeding. It is about the Czech Republic, where they govern in coalition, and Slovakia. These two countries have been harshly responding to a left-flagging policy: the reception of refugees in the EU. Debates such as migration or globalization have weakened the social Democrats in the face of their traditional constituents. "Globalization has been presented as a debate between openness and closure." The Liberals are clear: we must open up to the world and the populists, too, on the opposite side. But the Social Democrats have shown themselves lukewarm or ambiguous, "argues Ania Skrzypek, a researcher at the Foundation for European progressive Studies, a progressive court analysis house. This expert believes that the case of Portugal can serve as an example because the government "has pursued progressive policies without the inclination to be radical." Another figure that outpoints the desert of social democracy is Jeremy Corbyn in the United Kingdom. With his leadership, the Labor Party was within walking distance of the Tories in the last general election. Even so, in this ascent the chaos of the Brexit, a chapter with its own life in European politics and difficult to move to other national debates, is greatly influenced.