Is Europe’s left really in crisis? Our research shows it’s complex – and there is hope | Macarena Ares and Silja Häusermann
Mainstream parties of the left are in decline. But progressive politics is thriving far beyond its traditional blue-collar base
Over the past two decades, election results in western Europe have been framed within the narrative of a crisis of the left. Think of the near-implosion of the French Socialist party as a case in point. In 2022 the Socialist presidential candidate received less than 2% of the first-round vote, the worst presidential election result in the party's history.
Beyond the ups and downs of specific elections, the performance of social democratic parties has, on average, been marked by a tremendous decline across western European democracies, from a vote share of nearly 40% to below 20%.
Macarena Ares is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Barcelona. Silja Hausermann is a professor of political science at the University of Zurich. Both are co-convenors of the Progressive Politics Research Network, whose findings are published here
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