Shake, rattle, and voter rolls: The new politics in Europe, US

The recent recession may still be changing politics in Europe and the US, not only on specific issues but on qualities of governance, such as accountability, transparency, and wider participation.

|
AP Photo
Pablo Iglesias, the leader of the leftist Podemos (We Can) party, leaves a news conference in Madrid, Spain, Nov. 2.

Two surveys on either side of the Atlantic suggest how the recent recession in the United States and Europe has shaken up thinking about traditional politics:

In Spain, where about half of people under 30 are still unemployed, a political party that did not even exist until this year – Podemos, or “We can” – is now more popular than the governing party or its main opposition party, according to a poll for the El País newspaper. Podemos, in fact, is so anti-establishment that it considers itself more of a social and cultural movement than a political party.

In the US, where young people are twice as likely as older workers to end up jobless, only 1 in 5 Millennials believes politics can solve important issues. More than two-thirds of these 18-to-29-year-olds would prefer to volunteer for community service to support a worthy cause, according to a Harvard University poll.

The US and Europe are well along in their post-crisis financial reforms. And many economic indicators are up. Yet less noticed are grass-roots efforts to reform the democratic structures and habits that contributed to the West’s financial woes five years ago, especially among young people who are still jobless or underemployed.

The anti-politics mood certainly reflects anger at traditional parties. In Europe, the recession helped expose corruption in a few countries, such as Spain, Greece, Ireland, and Italy. For America’s midterm elections, the popularity of Congress was at an all-time low, partly over past scandals and partly for the super-partisanship of the two parties.

In Europe, a shift in thinking has boosted a few fringe parties on both the left and right, some of which seek to end elitist politics. On the right, Germany has seen the rise of the Alternative for Germany party while the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom Independence Party in Britain have made gains. In Greece, where the eurocrisis began, the newly formed left-wing SYRIZA might even gain power next year.

In Spain, where democracy was restored less than four decades ago, the mood for change is high. More than 90 percent of Spaniards say the current political situation is either “bad” or “very bad.” With the Internet now able to mobilize people quickly, groups like the leftist Podemos are able to challenge the old guard of politics. When the group held a recent general assembly, only 20,000 of the 130,000 were in attendance. The others were online.

Specific issues, such as immigration, joblessness, and fiscal austerity, may drive many of these new movements. But underneath lies a desire for wider participation, more transparency, and better accountability in governance. Those demands have been made easier by digital tools that allow greater connectedness among citizens.

The flip side to the popular rage against the system could be a demand for a new style of politics. Almost every recession leaves behind some economic reforms. Why not for politics?

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Shake, rattle, and voter rolls: The new politics in Europe, US
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2014/1103/Shake-rattle-and-voter-rolls-The-new-politics-in-Europe-US
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe