Taking the Relationship Between Populism and Healthcare Seriously: A Call for Empirical Analysis Rather Than Moral Condemnation Comment on "A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe"

Abstract

In this commentary, we reflect on Rinaldi and Bekker’s scoping review of the literature on populist radical right (PRR) parties and welfare policies. We argue that their review provides political scientists and healthcare scholars with a firm basis to further explore the relationships between populism and welfare policies in different political systems. In line with the authors, we furthermore (re)emphasize the need for additional empirical inquiries into the relationship between populism and healthcare. But instead of expanding the research agenda suggested – for instance by adding categories or niches in which this relationship can be observed – we would like to challenge some of the premises of the studies conducted and reviewed thus far. We do so by identifying two concerns and by illustrating these concerns with two examples from the Netherlands.

Differentiated nursing practice as a catalyst for transformations in nursing: A multiphase qualitative interview study

“…Many changes in healthcare are externally driven and it is important to understand how motivation can be encouraged at the individual level (Breckenridge et al, 2019 ). In this case, managers, policy makers, and politicians learned that making decisions on behalf of nurses can be disastrous (Felder et al, 2020 ). The legislative change triggered widespread resentment and demotivation among nurses, but helped them to realize that they needed to be involved in the transition towards new nursing practice.…”

Bridging the Gap Between Public Health and Political Science to Study the Populist Radical Right in its Multiple Manifestations: A Response to Recent Commentaries

“…Perhaps the most prominent contribution of the commentaries was a focus on populism – the hypothetical division between the ‘people’ and a corrupt elite. 1 , 4 , 11 While useful, De Cleen and Speed emphasise that the term populism – which can be attributed to parties of either sides of the political spectrum – should not be conflated with the ideological core of PRR parties, which is mostly based on nativism. 5 However, as Felder et al note, by widening the scope of research we can study alternative manifestations of populism as broader movements in society that are not directly captured when studying PRR political parties, but also influence public opinion and decision-making about health and welfare.…”

“… 5 However, as Felder et al note, by widening the scope of research we can study alternative manifestations of populism as broader movements in society that are not directly captured when studying PRR political parties, but also influence public opinion and decision-making about health and welfare. 4 Clark and Patterson point out that Latin American populist leaders, mostly within socialist parties, do not emphasise nativist welfare policies but rather use more inclusive anti-imperialist politics. 11 There also appear to be differences between the policy positions and strategies of smaller PRR parties in Western Europe compared to dominant single-party PRR governments in Central and Eastern Europe.…”

“…1,[4][5][6] We secondly reflect on the historic role of mainstream parties in welfare retrenchment, and how this relates to PRR discourses of the '(un)deserving. ' 4,5,7 Thirdly, we discuss the relevance of the PRR in relation to other policy areas that affect population health and health equity. [8][9][10] Global Manifestations, Definitions and Scope of Populism and Welfare Chauvinism Our scoping review revealed strong indications of welfare chauvinism, emphasising the nativist elements of the PRR agenda.…”

“…Gradually zooming out from the original paper, we first discuss the definitions and scope of populism and welfare chauvinism. 1 , 4 - 6 We secondly reflect on the historic role of mainstream parties in welfare retrenchment, and how this relates to PRR discourses of the ‘(un)deserving.’ 4 , 5 , 7 Thirdly, we discuss the relevance of the PRR in relation to other policy areas that affect population health and health equity. 8 - 10 …”