Populist gains and shifting support
Populist, authoritarian, and extremist parties secured more than half the vote in the latest parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, Czechia, Romania, and Slovakia. This combined support across Europe reached a record 32.6%, according to a report by the Swedish think tank Timbro and the EPICENTER network. Almost one in three European voters now back parties classified as populist, authoritarian, or extremist. This support level is roughly three times the level seen for most of the post-war era. Challenger parties won more than 20% of the vote in 26 countries. While liberal parties remain close to their record levels of support, social democrats have lost more than 40% of voters since 2000 and Christian democrats have declined steadily since the 1970s.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Combined European support for challengers | 32.6% |
| Challenger vote share in 26 countries | Over 20% |
| Highly authoritarian parties examined | 18 |
| Hard eurosceptic parties in study | 20 |
Challenger parties are increasingly part of the political establishment. By summer 2026, they were represented in 11 of the 31 governments covered by the index. The radical right drives most of the increase in support, whereas the radical left remains well below its post-war strength.
Regional impacts and shifts in power
The surge of populist and authoritarian parties across Central Europe clearly threatens democratic norms. The Timbro report identifies 18 highly authoritarian parties among the 76 examined, such as Hungary’s Fidesz, Poland’s Law and Justice, and Slovakia’s Smer. These parties have shown in government how they are prepared to weaken judicial independence, constrain media pluralism, or politicize state institutions. In Hungary, Peter Magyar’s centre-right Tisza won 53.2% of the party-list vote in the April election, defeating Fidesz which took 38.6% and ending 16 years of Viktor Orban rule. The radical-right Our Homeland Movement won 5.6% of the list vote during the same election.
In Czechia, Andrej Babis’ ANO party returned to power in 2025 with 34.5% of the vote and now governs alongside the radical-right Freedom and Direct Democracy and the Motorists for Themselves. This coalition has cut defense spending and scaled back support for Ukraine. A plan to replace the licence fee for public broadcasters with direct state funding has also drawn mass protests. In Slovakia, Robert Fico’s Smer party has moved toward an illiberal national-conservative position. Fico met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow this past May after deciding to end official military aid to Ukraine. The hard-right, pro-Russian Republika won 12.5% in the 2024 European Parliament election.
In Romania, George Simion’s Alliance for the Union of Romanians has led the polls for much of the past two years and the index classifies the group as a highly authoritarian entity in the latest report. The Social Democratic Party joined this group in a no-confidence vote that brought down Ilie Bolojan’s government in May. Simion has since threatened to move against President Nicusor Dan unless the president calls a snap election. Bulgaria presents a different type of challenger. Former president Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria won an outright majority in the 2026 parliamentary election. Many observers compare Radev with Orban and Fico because of his calls for a more pragmatic relationship with Russia, a comparison he rejects. In Poland, the right fragmented in July when Mateusz Morawiecki and dozens of supporters left Law and Justice to form the Rozwoj Plus group, which has around 40 MPs. Grzegorz Braun’s Confederation of the Polish Crown now advocates leaving the EU.
