The Anti-Populist Counter-Revolution has begun

The success of populist movement has provoked a veritable elite panic

As I noted in numerous essays posted 0n Roots & Wings and in my recently published book In Defense of Populism, in the current era the conflict between Populism and Anti-Populism defines contemporary political life^[i]

A new political cycle has opened where the classical distinction between Left and Right have lost its salience. For well over a decade, it has been evident that the technocratic managerial centrist political establishment suffers from a crisis of legitimacy and is plagued by a profound sense of disorientation and lack of self-belief. Its problems are highlighted by the erosion of support for the mainstream legacy parties that have dominated western societies during the post- war era.

The insecurity of the western political establishment has intensified because of the forward momentum of populist parties. For the first time since the end of World War Two the outlook and values of the political establishment have come under serious challenge by a movement that until recently, they dismissed as irrelevant parties of protest.

Since the triumph of Brexit in 2016 and the election of Trump on two occasions, Europe has seen a veritable surge in support for populist movements. Today, the possibility that this movement could gain political power has thrown the Establishment into a state of panic. In the United Kingdom the very public coup inside the Labour Party that has led to the overthrow of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his replacement by Andy Burnham was entirely motivated by the need to find an effective response to the rise of the populist Reform Party.

An egalitarian impulse based on democratic common sense has proved to be more than a match against the narrow technocratic globalist ideology of the anti-populist bloc. Consequently, cultural and political elites are determined to prevent the democratic spirit of populism from extending further its influence over society. In effect their reaction to the growing strength of the populist parties has been to launch a veritable counter-revolution against this movement.

Lawfare, the use of courts and other legal instruments is one weapon of choice used by governments against populist parties and their leaders. In France the main opponent of Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Rally are the Courts, which are determined to prevent her from being elected as the President of her nation. Le Pen, like numerous other populist politicians was accused and found guilty of financial impropriety. Nevertheless, despite being humiliated by the courts and forced to wear an electronic tag on her feet, Le Pen has decided to run in the election campaign for the French Presidency.

In the UK the leader of Reform, Nigel Farage has faced a veritable onslaught of hate from the media and the spokesmen of the different legacy parties. In effect all the legacy parties -Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Greens – have formed an alliance against what they see as a serious threat to their way of life. Whatever the differences between these centrist parties they pale into insignificance compared to their dislike of Reform. By forming an anti-Reform United Front, they hope to place Reform under a political quarantine.

In Germany, the populist party, Alternative for Germany has faced an even more ferocious campaign of vilification than Reform. There too the legacy parties have imposed a quarantine on a populist party.

Moreover, the German State has actively mobilised its resources against the AfD. On numerous occasions it has threatened to treat the AfD as a tool of a foreign power or as a terrorist organisation. The logic of this campaign is to prepare the ground for the banning this party or at least some of the members of this movement.

If the populist surge continues to maintain its momentum it is likely that it will face an increasingly authoritarian political landscape. The anti-populist counter-revolution is likely to use its influence over the machinery of the state and the media to justify adopting more repressive measures against its opponents. These measures are likely to lead to people being de-banked, made unemployed and criminalised. If the targeting of individual activist and leaders does not prove enough of a deterrent, populist parties are likely to face outright bans.

It is worth noting that in many parts of Europe -especially in France and Germany - the state has actually entered into a marriage of convenience with Antifa. Freelance non-state actors using violence against supporters of populism are the shock troops of the anti-populist united front.

At the moment, Hungary has become the testing ground for the anti-populist Counter-Revolution. Since being elected in April 2026, the anti-populist government of Peter Magyar has launched a wave of repression against its political opponents. It has weaponised the Courts and altered the Hungary’s Constitution to launch a veritable Maoist purge of the institutions of the state and civic society. It has shut down section of the media and has threatened prominent members of the previous political regime with imprisonment. There has not been even a murmur of concern regarding Hungary’s transformation into an authoritarian society from Western Governments. Why? Because they regard Magyar’s crackdown on his political opponents as a model to emulate rather than what it is; a degradation of democratic norms.

Populist parties need to prepare themselves for a world where their success is likely to provoke an authoritarian response from their opponents. To withstand such pressures, it needs to strengthen its relationship with its base and harness the democratic impulses expressed by populism to extend its influence. Above all, although populism represents democracy in action – it cannot evolve into a serious alternative unless it can throw up genuine, mature leaders who can be relied on to withstand the enormous pressure directed against them.

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^[i] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Defence-Populism-Frank-Furedi/dp/1509571671/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1X4D7ZLNDIRFD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.agz3DYNoLCzB01tkU5fx4n1CBXjDXfTuep3YKt30IWVMNM7VZQYNUWNNXoNqgmjpzbsvn0ENbh9jyc4f-ilToUCoAMO7PqjFjP7RJMrKrG98QoSqLkKWci7I0WRkZvbWhCY_EN3I584kz9sjUF-5EbNy-5hz2czfR13jT9sV_DKNeyx2yZetfjFB-efIRSK6FD4KD8SX6ufbJd6hrFioTkSNcPXdjbux_-D6ur-KcM0.vjV1QY1jdjCFkHCrOZ_rO31vKzXlalV0FQAR91p1CVA&dib_tag=se&keywords=Frank+Furedi&qid=1783683663&s=books&sprefix=frank+furedi%2Cstripbooks%2C111&sr=1-1