Populists in Power
In: Extremism and Democracy
The main area of sustained populist growth in recent decades has been Western Europe, where populist parties have not only endured longer than expected, but have increasingly begun to enter government. Focussing on three high-profile cases in Italy and Switzerland - the Popolo della Libertà (PDL), Lega Nord (LN) and Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP) - Populists in Power is the first in-depth comparative study to examine whether these parties are indeed doomed to failure in office as many commentators have claimed.Albertazzi and McDonnell's findings run contrary to much of the received wisdom. B