Contemporary populism, the agrarian and the rural in Central Eastern and Western Europe

Populist parties have been successful in many Central Eastern and Western European countries. Although populist parties differ from each other in many respects, they also share a common message, namely that the ‘bad’ elite is no longer, or not acting in the interests of the ‘good’ ordinary people. In this chapter we examine the characteristics and subtypes of populism (e.g. agrarian populism, conservative or neo-liberal populism, national populism and social populism), providing a comprehensive overview of contemporary populist parties in Europe. We also study possible explanations for the electoral successes of these parties and explore the relationship between the agrarian, the rural and the populist. We conclude that although agrarian populism is no longer a widespread phenomenon in Central Eastern and Western Europe, most populist parties have a clearly defined stance on agrarian issues and attract considerable electoral support from the countryside.