Parties of the centre should not be complacent post-pandemic

Political unrest is almost always generated by economic decline, but too much consensus among the mainstream is what drives voters into the arms of extremists

Isabel Diaz Ayuso, leader of the centre-right Partido Popular, which doubled its representation in the regional assembly last week. Picture: Getty

Over the past 15 years, Europe has featured political upheaval. Far-right or far-left groups have captured the zeitgeist in different EU member states, tapping into frustrations borne out of economic mismanagement, immigration crises and, more recently, the public health emergency.

At various stages, the collapse of the western world, the European Union and liberal democracy as we know it have been heralded, yet Armageddon has so far been avoided.

While politics in Europe is certainly ...