Radical-right youth groups are at the root of Europe’s populist surge | Cas Mudde and Duncan McDonnell

From France’s Jordan Bardella to Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, organised youth politics has produced many rightwing leaders. Democrats must catch up

The leaders of the most successful populist radical right parties in western Europe have one thing in common that is often overlooked. Italy’s Matteo Salvini, Jordan Bardella from France, Jimmie Åkesson from the Sweden Democrats, and Tom Van Grieken from Belgium’s Vlaams Belang all led the youth wing of the parties they now run. These movements shaped the politicians they are today, and they are now shaping Europe’s political future.

As Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, another former radical right youth-wing leader, put it: “Even more than my growth as a politician, I owe my growth as a person and as an Italian to my youth-wing activism.