Campbell: Populism Has Never Made Life Better for Anyone

Veteran British political strategist Alastair Campbell has issued a stark warning to progressive parties across the world, saying the rise of right-wing populism represents a genuine threat to democratic values — but one that can be defeated if mainstream politicians are willing to engage directly with the grievances driving it.

Speaking to the ABC ahead of a planned visit to Australia, Campbell argued that while populist movements successfully exploit real anxieties around the economy, immigration and technology, they have never actually improved the lives of ordinary people. "Find me the country where populism has succeeded in making life better for people," he said. "I don't see anywhere."

Campbell, who served as communications director to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, described what he called the three Ps of modern right-wing politics: populism, polarisation and post-truth. He said these elements operate together as a global movement, with far-right parties sharing tactics, arguments and the megaphone of Elon Musk's social media platform to amplify their message.

He said his advice to Australian Labor was the same message he carries to progressive parties everywhere — acknowledge the real challenges people are facing, but fight harder against a politics that offers nothing beyond slogans and the exploitation of fear. "Deal with those challenges but do a far better job of taking on this politics, which has never led anywhere but division and hatred and failure," Campbell said.

On the domestic British front, Campbell weighed in on the growing legal pressure surrounding Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who is subject to a police investigation over allegations that party officials colluded to secure illegal overseas donations. Campbell said the scandal was emblematic of a broader pattern — populist leaders whose rhetoric about fighting for ordinary people consistently gives way to ethical shortcuts and disregard for electoral rules.

Despite the investigation, Campbell acknowledged that scandal fatigue has blunted the political damage such revelations once caused. He attributed this in part to the normalisation of behaviour that would previously have ended careers — a trend he linked directly to Donald Trump's influence. "The abnormal has been normalised so much," he said, while expressing confidence that Farage has now peaked and that voters are beginning to see through his politics.

Campbell also turned his attention to Germany, where the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party recorded its strongest result yet in elections held in the former East Germany the previous weekend. He described the result as a textbook example of populist contradiction: the region has one of Germany's most rapidly ageing populations and will depend on immigrant labour to staff its care and health sectors, yet voters backed a party campaigning to expel long-settled residents based on their origins or ethnicity.

"That is fascism," Campbell said bluntly. "Let's not beat about the bush."

He blamed the AfD's surge partly on the failure of Germany's mainstream parties — both the centre-right Christian Democrats and the centre-left Social Democrats — to credibly address the concerns of voters in the post-reunification east. That failure, he argued, is the real lesson for progressive politicians everywhere: populists thrive not just because of what they say, but because of what established parties have failed to deliver.

With further German state elections on the horizon, Campbell said the outcome would ultimately rest with voters — but warned that the global coordination between far-right movements makes complacency from the political centre extremely dangerous.