Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

The populist-radical-right impact on the welfare state

Juliana Chueri 18th April 2023

Radical-right parties are transforming the welfare state, recreating a moral separation between the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’.

welfare,populist,radical right
Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s far-right prime minister—hard line on ‘welfare abuse’ (Antonello Marangi / shutterstock.com)

Radical-right parties re-emerged in many European countries in the early 1980s. They sought to restrict migration and enact tough-on-crime policies, while promoting a right-wing economic agenda. In the mid-1990s, however, such parties began turning their redistributive position to the ‘left’.

The Danish People’s Party (DF) led the way. It reaped enormous electoral success by proclaiming to be the ‘true defenders of the Danish welfare state’. DF crafted a tailor-made message for the working class: we will defend your welfare state by excluding migrants from benefits. Most western-European radical-right parties swiftly adopted his rhetoric, referred to as ‘welfare chauvinism’.

In the run-up to Sweden’s general elections, Jimmie Åkesson, leader of the populist radical-right party Sweden Democrats, tweeted:

The election is a choice between mass immigration and welfare. You choose

Thus, Åkesson showed how radical-right parties can reinvent themselves as a new form of workers’ party.

In analysing changes in the radical right’s distributive agenda, however, most scholars have dismissed the marketing. Some researchers have described such parties’ distributive positions as an inconsistent mishmash of left- and right-wing positions. According to this view, the radical-right populists strategically ‘blur’ their preferred social policy to attract an electorate with dissonant welfare preferences, while, in fact, not viewing distributive issues as a priority. This implies that we needn’t take the distributive positions of the radical right either literally or seriously.

New redistributive logic

The suggestion that radical-right populists’ distributive agenda is empty marketing is however becoming increasingly implausible, because these parties are making the issue more and more salient in their electoral programmes. By adopting the view that the welfare state is not a real concern for radical-right populist parties, and by choosing not to scrutinise their social policy stances, we also risk losing sight of these parties’ very real influence on policy-making on distributive issues. And we thereby miss an important welfare transformation.

Radical-right parties’ positions may seem incoherent and inconsistent when viewed through the lens of the traditional left-right division on welfare issues. But in a recent study, I write that this is only because it represents a new form of redistributive logic. Populist radical-right parties are developing a dualistic welfare state. This addresses ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ welfare recipients in very different ways, which go far beyond the notion of welfare chauvinism.

For the ‘deserving’ (such as nationals with long employment histories, and pensioners), the populist radical right are defending a protectionist welfare-state logic. For these people, they propose a welfare state based on generous and compensatory policies (pension, child benefits and unemployment benefits).

But the radical right proposes that the ‘undeserving’ (for example, foreigners and nationals seen as not contributing enough to the nation, such as the long-term unemployed) should not have full access to collective resources. Instead, they believe this group should remain subject to state discipline and surveillance. Such people’s access to social benefits should be conditioned by ‘workfare’ policies and the strong policing of welfare abuse. Although not introduced by the populist radical right, this coercive approach to the moral obligation to work fits aptly with its authoritarian rhetoric.

Not empty rhetoric

These positions on the welfare state are, moreover, not empty rhetoric. My work finds that radical-right populists do prioritise distributive issues once in power and that they do make a difference. In negotiations, parties push for policy reforms that align with their distributive agenda—and often succeed in influencing policy.

Recently, Giorgia Meloni, the radical-right Italian prime minister and leader of the populist radical-right Brothers of Italy, threatened to deny access to social assistance for those who refuse job offers, taking a hard line on ‘welfare abuse’. Sweden’s new government plan—under the Sweden Democrats’ influence—envisages tax cuts for pensioners and tougher benefit rules for immigrants.

Moreover, the impact of the populist radical right extends far beyond its direct influence on government policies. Mainstream right- and left-wing parties are adopting parts of their distributive agenda—in particular, the idea that nationals should take priority in welfare distribution. 

Welfare transformation

We should not underestimate the impact of the radical right’s new vision for the European welfare state. Populist radical-right parties are transforming the moral dimension of welfare policies. They assert their agenda on issues previously ‘owned’ by mainstream left-wing parties. They also legitimise the idea that the welfare state should be reserved for the ‘deserving’ few. This contributes to the stigmatisation and ‘othering’ of various social groups.

The new model of the European welfare state suggests that it is not merely legitimate for the state not to address poverty among its population—but that tackling poverty can be morally wrong. Feeding into the moral separation between ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ is the legitimisation of unprecedented inequality—with the blessing of members of the same working class who have historically been supporters of redistribution, and the backing of mainstream parties.

The European welfare state has suffered many shocks since World War II, yet it has remained reluctant to accept high inequality or abject poverty among its population. This era, however, might soon be drawing to an end.

This article was originally published at The Loop and is republished under a Creative Commons licence

Juliana Chueri
Juliana Chueri
Juliana Chueri is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and co-principal investigator of the project European Welfare States and the Challenge of Platform Work at the University of Lausanne.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u421983467f bb39 37d5862ca0d5 0 Ending Britain’s “Brief Encounter” with BrexitStefan Stern
u421983485 2 The Future of American Soft PowerJoseph S. Nye
u4219834676d582029 038f 486a 8c2b fe32db91c9b0 2 Trump Can’t Kill the Boom: Why the US Economy Will Roar Despite HimNouriel Roubini
u42198346fb0de2b847 0 How the Billionaire Boom Is Fueling Inequality—and Threatening DemocracyFernanda Balata and Sebastian Mang
u421983441e313714135 0 Why Europe Needs Its Own AI InfrastructureDiane Coyle

Most Popular Articles

startupsgovernment e1744799195663 Governments Are Not StartupsMariana Mazzucato
u421986cbef 2549 4e0c b6c4 b5bb01362b52 0 American SuicideJoschka Fischer
u42198346769d6584 1580 41fe 8c7d 3b9398aa5ec5 1 Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One AdmitsBo Rothstein
u421983467 a350a084 b098 4970 9834 739dc11b73a5 1 America Is About to Become the Next BrexitJ Bradford DeLong
u4219834676ba1b3a2 b4e1 4c79 960b 6770c60533fa 1 The End of the ‘West’ and Europe’s FutureGuillaume Duval
u421983462e c2ec 4dd2 90a4 b9cfb6856465 1 The Transatlantic Alliance Is Dying—What Comes Next for Europe?Frank Hoffer
u421983467 2a24 4c75 9482 03c99ea44770 3 Trump’s Trade War Tears North America Apart – Could Canada and Mexico Turn to Europe?Malcolm Fairbrother
u4219834676e2a479 85e9 435a bf3f 59c90bfe6225 3 Why Good Business Leaders Tune Out the Trump Noise and Stay FocusedStefan Stern
u42198346 4ba7 b898 27a9d72779f7 1 Confronting the Pandemic’s Toxic Political LegacyJan-Werner Müller
u4219834676574c9 df78 4d38 939b 929d7aea0c20 2 The End of Progess? The Dire Consequences of Trump’s ReturnJoseph Stiglitz

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Spring issue of The Progressive Post is out!


Since President Trump’s inauguration, the US – hitherto the cornerstone of Western security – is destabilising the world order it helped to build. The US security umbrella is apparently closing on Europe, Ukraine finds itself less and less protected, and the traditional defender of free trade is now shutting the door to foreign goods, sending stock markets on a rollercoaster. How will the European Union respond to this dramatic landscape change? .


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss European defence strategies, assess how the US president's recent announcements will impact international trade and explore the risks  and opportunities that algorithms pose for workers.


READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

KU Leuven advertisement

The Politics of Unpaid Work

This new book published by Oxford University Press presents the findings of the multiannual ERC research project “Researching Precariousness Across the Paid/Unpaid Work Continuum”,
led by Valeria Pulignano (KU Leuven), which are very important for the prospects of a more equal Europe.

Unpaid labour is no longer limited to the home or volunteer work. It infiltrates paid jobs, eroding rights and deepening inequality. From freelancers’ extra hours to care workers’ unpaid duties, it sustains precarity and fuels inequity. This book exposes the hidden forces behind unpaid labour and calls for systemic change to confront this pressing issue.

DOWNLOAD HERE FOR FREE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

What kind of impact is artificial intelligence (AI) having, or likely to have, on the way we work and the conditions we work under? Discover the latest issue of HesaMag, the ETUI’s health and safety magazine, which considers this question from many angles.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
How are minimum wage levels changing in Europe?

In a new Eurofound Talks podcast episode, host Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound expert Carlos Vacas Soriano about recent changes to minimum wages in Europe and their implications.

Listeners can delve into the intricacies of Europe's minimum wage dynamics and the driving factors behind these shifts. The conversation also highlights the broader effects of minimum wage changes on income inequality and gender equality.

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641