Talk of a revived European centre-left is premature

Recent election results have led some commentators to suggest a successful ‘repurposing’ of social democracy is underway in post-pandemic Western Europe. André Krouwel and Nick Martin argue that despite this optimism on the left, the patchy recovery of social democratic parties has been driven by the tactical considerations of voters. Meanwhile, to the left of social democracy, Europe’s radical left is facing its biggest electoral crisis in a generation.