Europe’s progressives must reclaim ‘security’ and ‘freedom’ from the populist right – here’s how

People fear threats from terrorism, climate crisis and disruptive technology. By working together, we can give them hope

We live in uncertain times. Economic shocks, technological changes, pandemics, the climate emergency and conflict after conflict have combined to create a widespread mood of insecurity.

This might seem to be the natural realm of the political right: a politics oriented around the protection of the status quo and rooted in the appeal of hierarchy and tradition. In recent years we have seen how it can fuel the populist right in particular, with its politics of stratification, coercion and isolation. The European parliament elections and the prospect of a far-right prime minister in France are just the latest demonstration of the appeal of build the wall" messaging in an age of insecurity.

Florian Ranft is a member of the management board at Das Progressive Zentrum, a thinktank, which is hosting the Progressive Governance Summit in Berlin, 21-22 June. The summit's keynote event is Freedom, Peace and Progress in Europe, a conversation between the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the Albanian-British academic Lea Ypi, chaired by the Guardian's editor in chief Katharine Viner. It will be free to view from 1500 CET on Friday 21 June, via live stream at the web link above.

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