Beyond Blaming the Economy: A New Normal for the Far Right?

The Global Progress Action Summit in Toronto brought together liberal leaders who were forced to confront a harsh reality: the far right is no longer an anomaly, but a fundamental aspect of modern politics. For years, liberals have been trying to “break the fever” of populist conservatism, but this approach has failed to yield results.

Canada’s Conservative Party has become increasingly populist in recent years, and some attendees at the summit seemed to be coming to terms with the presence of far-right parties rather than trying to defeat them. This shift is telling: for decades, liberals have viewed the far right as an aberration that would eventually correct itself after electoral rebukes or economic downturns.

However, this narrative has been disproven by evidence from Trump’s presidency to Meloni’s rise in Italy. The far right has proven to be a persistent force in modern politics, driven by a complex mix of factors including anxiety about immigration, globalization, and changing social norms. As Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin noted, delivering economic success may not be enough to blunt the far right’s appeal, especially when voters are more concerned with cultural and demographic change.

The trouble is that simply offering better economic statistics or redistributive policies may not address these concerns. People know their own pocketbooks, but they are also attuned to the cultural and demographic changes taking place around them. Slotkin herself noted that this means liberals need a new approach: one that recognizes the far right as a legitimate opponent rather than an aberration.

This requires acknowledging that the far right’s persistence is not just a product of economic anxiety or misinformation, but rather a fundamental aspect of modern politics. It also means confronting the harsh reality that the old narrative – that the far right would eventually break after electoral rebukes or economic downturns – has failed.

The center-left is still searching for a way to define victory in this new landscape. Can liberals defeat the far right without crushing it entirely? Can they learn to live with the presence of far-right parties and maintain their own ideological purity?

Liberals will need to develop new strategies for addressing the cultural and demographic concerns that drive the far right’s appeal. The stakes are high: if they fail to adapt, they risk being left behind by the far right’s increasingly sophisticated tactics and strategies. But if they can find a way to address these concerns, they may yet be able to build a coalition capable of defeating the far right.

The future is uncertain, but one thing is clear: the far right’s persistence is no longer an anomaly or a blip on the radar. It’s time for liberals to confront this reality head-on and start thinking about how to live with the presence of far-right parties in modern politics.