Fiscal austerity, welfare retrenchment and political populism in Continental European welfare states

Abstract

This chapter discusses the relationships between austerity, welfare retrenchment and political populism in countries that are commonly referred to as the ‘Continental European’ welfare regime type (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands). After outlining main characteristics of these welfare state regimes, their reform trajectories from the late 1970s until the Great Recession and in the recent past are sketched. The following main section examines relationships between welfare state change and political populism in these countries in more detail, focusing first on general characteristics of populist parties (which are primarily from the radical right) and tracing their history in individual countries, then discussing contextual conditions for their success and the (changing) composition of their voters, and finally analysing their welfare programmes and strategies as well as their policies in government (with Austria and the Netherlands serving as case studies). The chapter concludes by arguing that core characteristics of the Continental European welfare regime type may have contributed to the rise of the radical right in these countries.