A left-populist’s trajectory depends on the fate of its social democratic rival

Evidence

In Syriza’s experience, when the social democratic competitor collapsed entirely, it paved the way for populism to conquer power on its own, thereby prematurely testing its capacity to resist institutionalization and achieve real policy successes. In a case of near-Pasokification, like the French Socialist Party, the populist formation was empowered to become the hegemonic force on the left and to reorganize this political space along its own lines. Where the old social democratic party resisted, as the Spanish PSOE did, it forced the left-populist challenger into cohabitation, allowing it to reach executive power from a minority position. — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment, 299

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Podemos revived social democracy instead of displacing it — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment: The Left After the…, 309; Mélenchon won hegemony over the left but not over French society — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment: The Left After the…, 312; Working inside an established party warps and defeats the populist challenger — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment: The Left After the…, 301 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• The Right’s rise depends structurally on the Left’s failure in power. #corroborates (0.78)
• Populism is social democracy in times of group disorganization #expands (0.75) — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment, 297
• Establishment center-left parties can collapse from dominance to irrelevance in years. #qualifies (0.72) — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment, 169