Where the center-left was in the ascendant in the late 1990s, parties of the right now seem to be successful everywhere. The re-election of Tony Blair’s New Labour government last year is one of the few exceptions to this trend. While a drift to the moderate right could be written off as simply part of the cyclical process of democratic party politics, the associated phenomenon of the rise of the far right cannot be ignored.
It indicates support for parties and individuals who frequently espouse policies fundamentally opposed to the liberal democratic states in which they are seeking election, and which could potentially undermine other processes such as European integration.
