“The consequence of the disappearance of a fundamental
difference between the democratic parties of centre-left and centre-right is
that people are losing interest in politics. Witness the worrying decline in
voting. The reason is that most social democratic parties have moved so far
towards the centre that they are unable to offer alternatives to the existing
hegemonic order. No wonder people are losing interest in politics. A vibrant
democratic politics needs to offer people the possibility of making genuine
choices. Democratic politics must be partisan. In order to get involved in
politics, citizens have to feel that real alternatives are at stake. The
current disaffection with democratic parties is very bad for democratic
politics… I am really worried by the celebration of the politics of “consensus
at the centre” that exists today. I feel very strongly that such a
post-political zeitgeist is creating favourable terrain for the rise of
right-wing populism.”
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