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The Populist Surge
Why Europe’s Youth Are Turning to the Far-Right, and Why the Establishment Bears Responsibility.
The Shattered Promise of Prosperity
The grand lie of modern democratic capitalism is that every generation will be better off than the last. This comforting fairy tale, fed to Western societies for decades, has finally crumbled beneath the weight of economic reality. Today’s youth, saddled with crushing debt, insecure jobs, and an economy rigged in favor of the old and wealthy, are revolting at the ballot box. Their political rebellion isn’t merely a rejection of the status quo — it’s a desperate cry for recognition in a system that has consistently ignored their needs.
The transformation is particularly striking in Europe, where young voters are abandoning traditional centrist parties in unprecedented numbers. In last June’s European elections, 30% of French voters under 34 backed Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, while in Germany, 16% of under-25s chose the Alternative for Germany (AfD). More than 20% of young Italians cast their votes for Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy. Even in the United States, a country supposedly immune to European-style nationalism, 56% of young men and 40% of young women aged 18 to 29 supported Donald Trump.
