How to counter the rise of the far right in Europe, with the FES

What should the centre left do in the face of a growing far-right threat?

In a special episode of France Elects supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), we discuss its latest report on the far right, “Understanding Right-Wing Populism and What to do About It”. As Marine Le Pen faces Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the French presidential election, her National Rally party is on course for the far-right’s best ever result in the country.

We’re joined by one of the report’s co-authors, Daphne Halikiopoulou from the University of Reading, and by Marta Lorimer, a fellow in European politics at the LSE European Institute.

They discuss how the far right has managed to detoxify its brand, the challenges for the centre left as it looks to counter this electoral success, and the dangers of trying to out-populist the populists.

Then Ido is joined by the FES’s head of office in Vienna, Johanna Lutz, to explain more of the work of the foundation.

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