Domestic Explanations: Inequalities

The most salient empirical results can be summed up in a few points. First, despite the complexities and necessary distinctions, the consensual democracies with coordinated economies tend to have redistributive policy solutions and to correct inequalities. Second, the salience of the migration issue derives either from the consequences of the economic crisis (Italy, Spain, and France) or from basic ideological orientations (Poland). Third, with the Great Recession, the presence of new parties and populist parties became a distinguishing aspect of our six countries. Greater dissatisfaction and the growth of the new protest parties pushed the incumbent leaders to be more responsive. Fourth, we distinguish between a revendicative populism (leftist or inclusionary) and an identitarian populism (rightist or exclusionary). Identitarian populism mainly prevailed in Poland—but has a specific salience also in other countries: from France, with the Front National, to Italy with the League of Salvini, the United Kingdom with UKIP and also with Boris Johnson, and, to a more limited extent, Germany with AfD, and lastly Spain with Vox. Revendicative populism became politically and electorally relevant where the economic crisis was felt most, as Southern European democracies. Fifth, the relationship between the vote of the left parties (moderate and radical) and the trend of inequality shows a rather random connection. It is possible to identify a few patterns in the six countries. Finally, the connection between protest movements and the related institutionalization is different from case to case, with Germany, the United Kingdom, and Poland, where there are no relevant social movements.