With Europe's traditional voter blocs now scattered like never before, some center-left parties have been tempted to siphon off working-class votes from the right by adopting an anti-immigrant agenda. But aping far-right populists is a mistake for progressives, on both moral and tactical grounds.
LONDON – Is a hardline position on immigration the key to electoral success for Europe’s beleaguered center left? Denmark’s Social Democrats certainly think so. They took first place in a general election this month after arguing that immigrants threaten the country’s social cohesion and generous welfare state. The far-right Danish People’s Party, whose line that message echoed, suffered significant losses.
LONDON – Is a hardline position on immigration the key to electoral success for Europe’s beleaguered center left? Denmark’s Social Democrats certainly think so. They took first place in a general election this month after arguing that immigrants threaten the country’s social cohesion and generous welfare state. The far-right Danish People’s Party, whose line that message echoed, suffered significant losses.