Is the West Experiencing a Right-Wing Drift?

Sweeping Win for Cameron in Britain: Conservative Party Secures Majority

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Liberal Party in charge in Australia, Conservative Party in Canada.

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And if so, why?

I don't think so. The United States has a president, who, for all that leftists dislike him, is probably the most left-wing President since the 1970s. In England, the Conservative majority will be smaller than the center-right Conservative-LD coalition that was in charge before, and my sense is that the massive swing from Scottish Labour to SNP is in no way a move to the right. In Canada, NDP just took over one of the most conservative provinces in the country, and Liberals are polling way better than they were back in 2011 when Harper won his current majority; I don't think people are projecting he'll keep that majority in the upcoming election. I don't know much about Australia or France.

I don't think so either. Bibi's coalition not likely to last long, US drifting towards the left afaict. Europe's rightward drift seems largely driven by xenophobia (always with the petty regionalism/nationalism over there) which is sad to watch.

I don't think Canada is more right-wing that it was 10 or 20 years ago. It's just that the more left-leaning vote is split between two parties. Also the Liberals have had terrible leadership in the last decade or so.

The conservatives have been pretty good at keeping everyone together and keeping internal dissent to a minimum.

based on comments in this thread obv the answer is "hell yes"

XP xenophobia of Scots towards the english, maybe

other answer is "because the further right we go the further right people think of as 'left wing'"

Renzi's performance in the Euro elections seemed significant. Huge victory for pro-austerity leader who was thought to be much more divisive. It's mostly fiscal conservatism on the rise in Europe. Despite the growth of the far right the mainstream tends to be more socially liberal I think.

dont forget Greece lol

I guess if you look at the actual governments in place, they are more right-wing, but that feels more like the left not getting their shit together rather than the actual people being more conservative. I don't know. We probably don't have the best systems for electing governments.

XP xenophobia of Scots towards the english, maybe

You're making the assumption that people who vote SNP are nationalists... for a start.

just playing with the yanks tom

Suspected as much, but I remember them having difficulty understanding the concept to left wing nationalists during the referendum, bless 'em.

concept of

theyre some craic hey

The United States has a president, who, for all that leftists dislike him, is probably the most left-wing President since the 1970s

lol, picked that decade due to that anarchist Jimmy Carter? (who ruled out reparations to Vietnam because "the destruction was mutual")

the last liberal POTUS was a man named Lyndon Johnson.

both houses of congress and most of the state houses in the u.s. are controlled by a class of republicans who are probably the most right-wing major faction in america since the southern democrats of the antebellum era. i think the u.s. actually is drifting to the left in a lot of ways, but it's not always perceptible in our elections.

it seems hard to dispute that obama's the most progressive president since johnson, his foreign policy's certainly better.

yeah idk if electorates are drifting right as much as right-wing oligarchs are just tightening their reigns of power

xp

xp

well that's a high raw body count to match even when you bomb 7 Muslim countries

and have prosecuted more whistleblowers than all the other presidents in history

and

"progressive" sure is a versatile word is all im sayin'

I don't think Canada is more right-wing that it was 10 or 20 years ago. It's just that the more left-leaning vote is split between two parties.

Why do people always say this? The NDP has been around since 1961; before it, the CCF was winning seats in federal elections since 1935. The Liberals still managed to thoroughly dominate Canada in the 20th century, even with a single 'united' PC or Conservative party until the 90s.

In terms of economic policy, I still think the Liberals of the 90s were at least as right-wing as any other post-war federal government. I actually feel like the mood is shifting left these days (which the AB election demonstrates).

I specified "10 or 20 years" specifically because I didn't really follow politics before that. I think the fact that there were multiple right-wing parties in the 90s is a pretty significant reason as to why the Liberals were able to win elections with such large majorities back then.

Here in Quebec it definitely feels like we have shifted to the right. Every successive Liberal leader has been more right-wing than his predecessor.

The West is definitely rightward leaning. The US left is more or less non-existent, beholden to the same corporate interests as the right. They dangle civil rights issues like gay marriage as a carrot to voters, because they know without those issues, nothing much separates their war-and-banks-driven governmental style from the right's. The hope that Obama will close gitmo is certainly worth more monetarily than him actually closing it down.

The question is: is this a recent development or a general tendency of US representative democracy? I suppose it began as representing mainly the interests of those who could legally vote (white male landowners/oligarchs), which you could say is a rightward position. Since then women have been granted the vote and minorities as well, but is their vote worth the same as the oligarchs that have always monopolized representation? No way in hell.

Perhaps in a way we have become more socially liberal, but the systems of control and oppression are working against that development in a way that greatly negates it. Corporate personhood imo continues to devalue "free speech" and the spits at the virtue of representative democracy.

Going by Wiki numbers, the combined popular vote of the Reform and PC parties was still less than the Liberals' share of the popular vote in the 93 and 97 elections. The combined total of the Alliance's and PCs' share of the popular vote in 2000 was just under the Liberals' share and was well under the combined total of the Liberals and NDP. (I also doubt that all PC voters would have chosen the Alliance over the Liberals if they had to choose. Clark himself preferred the Liberals.) King's, St. Laurent's, Pearson's, and Pierre Trudeau's Liberals all managed to win elections (after elections) despite facing left-wing competition.

I get resentful about 'vote-splitting' arguments for a few reasons but especially because I feel that they are usually made by Liberals to unfairly marginalize/minimize/accuse any progressive alternative.

The Liberals lost in 2006 because they were corrupt, arrogant, and entitled. They haven't managed to convince the voting public since then.

for the record, I agree with you re: vote-splitting. I don't want any kind of NDP/Liberals merger and will most likely vote NDP in the next election.

Still, I think it's difficult to argue that the Conservatives being the only viable party right of center doesn't benefit them enormously, allowing them to form majority governments despite not being able to get beyond 40% support.

The real problem is a lack of any kind of proportional representation.

I don't have the nuanced take on what is left wing, probably a bit dated & old fashioned. Indiscriminately killing civilians with drones and police does throw up some red flags though

most nuanced take

It is all shifted right in the context of most other Western countries.

it seems hard to dispute that obama's the most progressive president since johnson

Obama Lashes Out at Liberal Foes of Pacific Trade Deal
By PETER BAKER 3:07 PM ET
At Nike headquarters in Oregon, the president lashed out at critics within his own party, accusing Democrats of deliberately distorting the impact of the trade agreement he is negotiating with Asia.

i didn't think it'd be terribly controversial to say that obama was more progressive than carter or clinton. but yes i'm aware that the guy isn't bernie sanders.

you are also aware some people never get tired of criticizing him

I don't think the left's popularity is waning. It's just that their appeal is becoming more selective.

http://i.imgur.com/OGFBhT3.jpg

Here in Quebec it definitely feels like we have shifted to the right. Every successive Liberal leader has been more right-wing than his predecessor.

― silverfish, Friday, May 8, 2015 2:20 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not only that, but like in many places across the West, our de facto left wing party has slowly and steadily become right wing.

love the passive voice thread question

plz put the q in active voice for me

present progressive, not passive

de facto left wing party

Had sort of a hollow lol when I realized that this probably refers to the PQ.

h/t the donald trump thread

https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_MxkTUjnGeBaoavzdNapdX_UqkI=/1600x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4082854/Figure_7_.0.png

I'm not sure I understand what is meant by "shift in the percentage replying..." -- e.g. if 1000 respondents were surveyed from the United States in 1995 and 50 said "good or very good" then, does the chart mean that the number/1000 increased to 55 in 2014, or does it mean it increased to 150?

i.e. are we talking percent change or percentage point change?

the way i understand it, if in 1955 20% said army rule is good, and then in 2015 30% said so, there would be an increase of 10%? does that make sense?

btw i think the premise of this thread is true more than ever right now.

I don't think there's an overall rightward drift in the US. I do think there's a rightward drift on the right.

xp that makes sense, as long as that's what vox means

btw i think the premise of this thread is true more than ever right now.

― Mordy

I dunno. hard to say. to play devil's advocate:

likelihood is the United States will elect a democrat next year for the third election in a row.

Canada just voted out the conservatives in an election where the conservatives purposefully used wedge issues and stoked islamophobia as a vote-winning tactic.

The ruling party the conservative PP in Spain failed to return a majority in the election on Sunday.

I do think there's a rightward drift on the right.

^^^this

otoh france has moved so far to the right that the socialists had to throw their support behind the republicans to keep the national front out of power

hail Caesar! hail Rome!

A good essay on Curtis Yarvin.

Yarvin’s not a serious theorist. Philosophers, historians, public intellectuals, and even rival right-wing thinkers tend to dismiss him rather than take his worldview seriously. Despite his earnest efforts, his cobbled-together, gonzo theories won’t leave behind a school of thought. We won’t be reckoning with the implications of his ideas for decades to come. Indeed, we wouldn’t be doing it now if it weren’t for the need to explain Trump. Yarvin parlayed scores of ten-thousandword posts into the simulation of an intellectual career. Jury-rigged from sources he’d gleaned online, Yarvin’s thought exists entirely divorced from the ivory tower he resents. He’s a subject, not an interlocutor.

...

As is the case for virtually all would-be intellectuals, Yarvin’s influence is indirect. But it is real. So, while I am skeptical of Yarvin as a Rasputin-like figure, I do think Yarvin has played a role in encouraging the direction of right-wing politics at an elite level and in creating permission structures, especially for major investors and influencers in Silicon Valley, to embrace Trumpian politics.

By permission structure, I mean a framework that provides justifications that allow someone to change their views and behaviors.

Yarvin provides permission structures in at least three places: first, in rejecting mainstream norms about information; second, in his calls for DOGE-like cuts to the government; and third, in legitimizing Donald Trump’s autocratic tendencies.

"Unite The Right" march in London today, hoping for another Battle of Cable Street.

I’ve just seen a load of drunk midlife crisis actors wrapped in flags and Stone Island heading for the south bank, but also saw the anti-fash march gathering at Russell Square.

watched a bit of footage from it earlier. seems concerning how broad a range of people it is, lots of diff age groups, lots of women, people from other countries etc, and a big crowd generally.

What on earth could have emboldened them

the main chant over and over again seemed to be 'keir starmer's a wanker' to the tune of seven nation army. ingrates.

McSweeney made his reputation on taking on the BNP in Lambeth, his whole shtick is that he understands the tone and language to stay onside with angry white voters. Well McSweenes, they all think yer man is a wanker!

watched a bit of footage from it earlier. seems concerning how broad a range of people it is, lots of diff age groups, lots of women, people from other countries etc, and a big crowd generally.

I saw one of these in Nottingham last year on YouTube and was also struck by this, not as white as I would have imagined

The ones I saw were white or sunbed wankers.

Accounts I am seeing are saying they need to walk across the road to avoid.

And these are white people.

I just drove my client past about 5 women in what looked like pastel floral-printed nightgowns holding up neon signs with things like "I am a Charlie Kirk!" written on them. (The i's were dotted with a heart.)

Tommy Robinson is claiming ridiculous crowd sizes for the white supremacy march, it's not much more than a 100k

that’s still a lot more than i would have ever imagined turning out in london for a vague directionless fashy march particularly one drummed up in the wake of a highly nerdy american right wing youtuber. i think it’s very odd!

oh yeah it's still not good

Not much more than a year ago the fash organised a riot in walthamstow and instead there were thousands of locals ready to tell them to fuck right off.

Hopefully we can expect a strongly-worded statement from the UK government condemning such a lurch to the right in the political arena

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/07/spain-young-voters-far-right-migration-housing-wages-employment-vox

And Spain is one of the better performing EU countries. But I think the next far right government in Europe is going to be in France. Macron can't recover from his self-inflicted wounds, there'll be a legislative election, maybe not right now but within a year, and the far right will smash it.

Yeah, it'll be a real task motivating the left to go out and vote when they succeeded last time and Macron was just like "lol no".

Also, the left is a lot more divided than it was a year ago.

EU freedom of movement might end in a decade or less.

EU freedom of movement might end in a decade or less.
― xyzzzz__, jeudi 9 octobre 2025 13:28 (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

What's with the propensity to talk about things you do not understand in the least and making sleight-of-hands predictions with no basis in your trademark one-liners ? Do you have any idea how many people have taken advantage of the free movement of people in Europe in the last 30 years ? Tens of millions. Every fourth person I cross in the street is a foreigner, probably double that in Geneva. If you think we are going back you are deluded. Be content to post tweets.

If Le Pen or Bardella wins the next presidential election, all bets are off. Although I agree EU freedom of movement would hardly be their first target.

MLP will be ineligible, Bardella is 30yo, I wouldn't underestimate the power of the RN to show their incompetence, it can't be ruled out but we're not there yet. Anyway, predicting a RN win is fine, stretching it and predicting the end of the EU is not.

You can be incompetent and still fuck everything up, see Trump/ America 2025. I'd say a Bardella win is marginally more plausible than not. He'll be in the run-off. The non-RN vote will be very splintered. If it's Melenchon who creeps through to the run-off, Bardella will win. If it's Philippe or some other centrist, it's a toss-up.

As for the EU, it wasn't so long ago that MLP was calling for Frexit. The EU is fundamentally fragile. Let's see what happens.

What's with the propensity to talk about things you do not understand in the least and making sleight-of-hands predictions with no basis in your trademark one-liners ? Do you have any idea how many people have taken advantage of the free movement of people in Europe in the last 30 years ? Tens of millions. Every fourth person I cross in the street is a foreigner, probably double that in Geneva. If you think we are going back you are deluded. Be content to post tweets.

― Naledi, Thursday, 9 October 2025 bookmarkflaglink

You show little understanding of where we are. You probably would've said Brexit and Trump in the White House is deluded talk.

Interesting that this little one liner of mine has set you off though.

I am not predicting the end of frictionless trade but harder borders across the EU? Absolutely on the cards.

https://balkaninsight.com/2025/10/06/the-price-of-clean-streets-how-the-netherlands-deports-homeless-eastern-europeans/

Some examples of the above from the Netherlands

Indeed. Climate change, lack of growth in economies, with the added example of what's happening in the US mean what's impossible to a centrist (right wing actually but wearing that mask on here) doofus like Naledi is actually very much possible.

Encouraging:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/13/portugal-far-right-chega-falls-well-short-local-elections

It's a relief but it's not much. Local elections are always trickier, especially in rural areas like the one I grew up in, where there's still a touch of feudalism - you vote for the guy who's always been there, and once he is no longer elligible you vote for his son or whoever he's deemed to be his successor. And those guys will always be PSD or PS.

There's also the factor that, like a lot of fascist movements, Chega is all about the André Ventura personality cult, local candidates don't have the same juice.

Coincidentally I got round this piece on Melenchon

Adducing as evidence his sympathy for Latin American strongmen or his youthful membership of a Trotskyist organisation notorious for its undemocratic methods, Mélenchon’s adversaries charge him with authoritarian tendencies. Last May two centre-left journalists published a vitriolic pamphlet, La Meute (‘The Wolfpack’), which portrayed LFI as a one-man cult, where dissidents are quickly slandered and expelled. There is some truth to these accusations. LFI is a machine mostly designed to serve Mélenchon’s ambitions. Its national co-ordinators have so far been thirty-something mediocrities whose chief merit seems to be absolute loyalty to the movement’s informal leader. But much the same accusations could be levelled at Renaissance, the political machine that serves Macron’s interests, or Le Pen’s Rassemblement national.

Such ‘gaseous’ one-man or one-woman cults correspond better than traditional parties with what voters now want. In his bestselling L’Archipel français: une nation multiple et divisée (2019), the political analyst Jérôme Fourquet drew attention to the extreme fragmentation of French society as a result of the decline of Catholicism and communism since the 1970s, along with social segregation and fast-growing ethnic diversity. These centrifugal forces, Fourquet argued, underlie the collapse of traditional parties, while rampant individualism favours the emergence of looser movements designed to further the interests of a single leader.

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n18/david-todd/parable-of-the-parakeets

On a better front, looks like a good amount of Geert Wilders's Dutch electorate a couple of years back vanished:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/oct/29/netherlands-parliamentary-election-geert-wilders-europe-latest-news-updates

Maybe when these guys actually get into office people quickly sour on them like they do with traditional parties?

Funny how it works.

Except when they have the media captured and the electoral system compromised

Oh yeah Trump and crew have the ruthlessness to know that taking away the ability of the electorate to throw them out is job #1

On a better front, looks like a good amount of Geert Wilders's Dutch electorate a couple of years back vanished

They lost quite a lot of seats, but there's still a lot of idiots in this country thinking that a vote for Wilders leads to something positive; his party is still on course to become the biggest after all. The final votes are coming in and it's extremely close with the central/progressive liberal party D66.

I think D66 leader Rob Jetten is a really great guy, very intelligent and probably the best speaker in the House. I find myself often agreeing with him, although D66 is not really my party (I vote more left wing). I am looking forward to seeing him become our new prime minister - which is likely to happen, as several key parties have ruled out forming a coalition with Wilders' PVV.
Unfortunately, Jetten's success is the only good news of this election. The left-wing parties combined have never had as few seats as they'll get now. The biggest left party lost 5 seats and their leader Frans Timmermans resigned as a result. Timmermans is IMO another great speaker & good guy, but he seems to be downright loathed by many opponents.

My vote went to the relatively new left-wing party Volt, but they also went down from 2 seats to only 1.

Looks like finding a majority for the coalition will be a nigh-impossible puzzle...

https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/1101/1541586-fire-louth-ipas

Asylum centre set on fire in Drogheda, Ireland.
Nothing new sadly, people have done this many times. But this time there were people actually inside it, though at least they were rescued.
The troubling thing is, I see the news reports on Facebook, and so many people are leaving 'laugh' emojis on there.
They think it's hilarious that the asylum seekers nearly got burned to death.

I’ve only met one person from Drogheda in my life and he was an absolute cockfarmer

im not sure that that is the takeaway tbh

He’s probably dead now tbf

Anyway it’s fucking horrible and I hope they catch the people who did it and punish them for a very long time

On a better front, looks like a good amount of Geert Wilders's Dutch electorate a couple of years back vanished

it looks like pretty much all the votes lost by wilders' pvv went to other far right parties - ja21 (who unfortunately are reported to have a solid chance of ending up in government?), and fvd who are the most extreme right party, so the far-right vote hasn't even gone anywhere, just fragmented a little more than last time

He’s probably dead now tbf

Was he in the hotel?

... oops, fucked that up.

If Le Pen or Bardella wins the next presidential election, all bets are off. Although I agree EU freedom of movement would hardly be their first target.

― Zelda Zonk, Thursday, 9 October 2025 bookmarkflaglink

Seismic poll in France

Jordan Bardella would win every single runoff scenario he'd face.

He'd win 74-26 against Mélenchon! pic.twitter.com/zwrb3XGAFf

— François Valentin (@Valen10Francois) November 25, 2025

This is an excellent, detailed account of the right-wing drift in Latin Am

https://archive.ph/OgJu1

Written just as Kast wins power in Chile.