If You Fail To Address Citizens’ Concerns, You’ll Lose To The Fringe
Finance If You Fail To Address Citizens‘ Concerns, You’ll Lose To The Fringe Why are nontraditional political parties and factions, many of them on the extreme, gaining strength in Europe and elsewhere？ Local elections in Britain last week were stunning. They underscored a trend that has been building for years, not only in the UK but also in almost all other well-established democracies. Radicalism is on the rise. The two traditional ruling parties—Labour and Conservative—were smashed. Labour suffered its lowest percentage of the popular vote in over a century. The Conservatives, who had had their worst electoral performance in the national election of 2024, failed to make a comeback. In fact, they lost ground. In the U.S. a significant portion of the public regards both parties with disdain. Most voters think the country is going in the wrong direction. In Germany the approval rating of Chancellor Friedrich Merz is the worst since democracy was reestablished after WWII. France‘s floundering President Emmanuel Macron isn’t doing much better. In Japan, a country never noted for its feminist sensitivities, the long-ruling party turned to a woman, Sanae Takaichi. Promising a radical break from the past and stoutly resisting bullying from Beijing, she won a landslide electoral victory. But can