This is a good thread. Fragmentation + polarisation are the driving factors in many European countries. If you cherry pick data to obsess on one trend (usually the far-right) you miss the bigger picture, ignore nuance, and end up with simplistic, often wrong, explanations.
The following can all be true without diminishing the significance of any one trend:
1) growth and, crucially, influence of far-right
2) centrist parties can lose support in more than one direction as big issues polarise voters
3) net result is a more fragmented electorate
1) growth and, crucially, influence of far-right
2) centrist parties can lose support in more than one direction as big issues polarise voters
3) net result is a more fragmented electorate
Every country is different, and there are important exceptions. Lega in Italy for example is able for now to capitalise on lack of a centre-right alternative, and massive scope to grow in south where it was previously a non-player, making its rise a potentially dominant trend
