A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of the far right. The strength of populist, nationalist and illiberal forces in the European elections and in France’s ongoing legislative polls has provoked anguish across the political spectrum. In France, especially, there is panic over Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National. But fear and loathing, however understandable against parties with a legacy of hateful rhetoric, are not adequate political responses.
The Norwegian and Finnish experiences of admitting rightwing populists into centre-right coalitions is instructive. The realisation that a share of power was possible, and the public spotlight on them once they possessed it, induced them to polish some of their roughest edges and strike compromises to get some of their preferences enacted. The curious result in Norway was a boom in road building combined with high and rising carbon taxes.