Who are "the people" - and who's keeping power from them? Eliane Glaser explores how across Europe and beyond, populist movements are claiming they can to put back politicians in touch with voters and reinvigorate democracy from the grassroots. From UKIP's millions of voters to the passionately engaged Scottish referendum, from the rise of nationalist parties in northern Europe to burgeoning left-wing movements like Syriza and Podemos further south, traditional politicians are feeling the public's wrath. But how much of the crowd-pleasing rhetoric can be taken at face value - and do politicians really now think of themselves as ordinary people?
Contributors: Professor PAUL TAGGART, University of Sussex Professor VERNON BOGDANOR, King's College London DOUGLAS CARSWELL, UKIP MP for Clacton SIRIO CANOS, Podemos PETER OBORNE, journalist and author Professor CAS MUDDE, University of Georgia
Producer: Polly Hope.
(Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images. Picture shows a woman holding a placard at a demonstration on 5th July 2015)
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0:00.0 | Thanks for downloading analysis from the BBC. This week it's the debut for a new presenter, |
0:05.4 | Ely Anglazer. And nothing daunted she's going to take on a word and an idea which we've |
0:10.8 | heard a lot of and we're likely to hear a great deal more of. |
0:14.4 | It's the P word. Populism. |
0:17.0 | What did these events have in common? |
0:20.0 | See, see, poue, see se poue. woman. |
0:23.0 | Cise-E-C-E-Cise-E-Cise-E-Pelle. |
0:25.0 | The head of Greece's left-wing Syriza Party, Alexis Tsipras, has been sworn in as Prime Minister |
0:31.0 | after winning yesterday's general election. |
0:33.2 | He's formed a coalition with a small right-wing group |
0:36.4 | which also opposes the terms of Greece's bailout. |
0:39.2 | We have seen the fight. |
0:42.2 | We see the same go take the point of France, with the |
0:45.7 | people of France, A, and a divis. |
0:48.0 | A! |
0:51.0 | What the people of this country want is some politics of hope, some politics of |
0:56.8 | inspiration, some politics that says things could be better. |
1:06.0 | Sounds chaotic. From UKIP's electoral surge to the heady euphoria of Scotland's yes campaign, |
1:11.0 | from the rise of the far right in France, Denmark and Italy, to anti-osterity movements |
1:16.2 | on the streets of Athens and Madrid, an unruly horde is threatening the stately institutions |
1:22.1 | of liberal democracy. |
1:23.6 | It's the P word populism. |
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