7 - Antidotes, Remedies, and Miracles

Summary

The best remedy to populism in power is for liberal democrats to win elections, and in all populist regimes discussed in this book - Poland, Hungary, the Philippines, India, and Brazil - this remains a possibility, though in some countries (Hungary) it is more difficult than in others (Poland). Successful electoral strategies to defeat populism require coalition-making and high electoral turnout. Extra-electoral remedies, such as militant democracy or "cordon sanitaire", are less feasible and less compatible with democratic principles. The most important challenge is developing credible liberal-democratic policies to counter populist ones, which do not disparage the values of community, patriotism or collective pride. Liberalism has sufficient intellectual resources to support these values, now claimed by populist leaders.