Why European populists idolize Putin and Trump

Abstract

The summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that took place in July in Helsinki was eagerly anticipated by many—except perhaps Silvio Berlusconi. In a Trumpian manner, the flamboyant former Italian prime minister claimed in his campaign for general election last February that he had singlehandedly “ended the Cold War” through his chummy relationship with Putin. Today’s diverse cast of European populist politicians are likely to be humbler than Berlusconi but also more dangerous. From Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and France’s Marine Le Pen to the United Kingdom’s Nigel Farage and Italy’s new interior minister Matteo Salvini, populists across the continent see Putin and Trump as the standard bearers on matters of protectionist, nationalist and anti-immigrant policies, ideology and style.