Mainstream Conservatives On The Run in Europe, Too

Jonathan Martin: “Those of us who covered former President Donald Trump’s extraordinary rise and victory often think of the canary in the (Yorkshire) coal mine that should have pointed to his general election viability: The British vote to leave the European Union, this month seven years ago.”

“Brexit, as hindsight made all too clear, was not only a harbinger of Trump’s potential but illustrated that the appeal of right-wing populism was hardly limited to America. And former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s subsequent success penetrating the so-called red wall of pint-and-crisps Labour seats was a reminder that the demographic realignment underpinning the shift was no mere Rust Belt phenomenon, either.”

“But I increasingly think the more consequential storyline going into next year’s presidential election is the other side of the coin: not the strength of the populist right but the weakness of the center-right.”

“And now, like then, it’s not a story limited to the American side of the Atlantic.”