Migrants help keep Central European populists in power

Subject

Populists' exploitation of the refugee crisis in Central Europe.

Significance

Support for populist parties has risen after last year's refugee crisis across the EU, but nowhere have they been as successful as in Central Europe (CE). Peddling migrant fears has secured the re-election of Robert Fico's Smer (Slovakia) and the revival of Viktor Orban's Fidesz (Hungary) from a post-election popularity slump. On the back of the migration tide, populists are transforming CE's political trajectory.

Impacts

• A united CE front will gain prominence at the EU, stoking tensions with Berlin on migration policy and the future of EU integration.
• The strengthened legitimacy of illiberal positions on migration will foster the emergence of imitators elsewhere in Europe.
• The chance of an EU-level, long-term solution to the refugee crisis will remain slim in the medium term.