Most Western Social Democratic parties have long abandoned original ideologies and programmes to enthusiastically embrace capitalism. However, until the 1980s, center-right parties maintained a more redistributive attitude in public policies and more participative in the economy. Then the process of disappearance of the left-right axis that we are experiencing began. In the 1990s, in the panorama without the Soviet Union, neoliberal policies began to prevail in Europe and, consequently, it was increasingly difficult for street citizens to find differences between governments of different color in socioeconomic policies. To address this problem, social democracy reinvented itself with the post-materialist agenda.

Center-left parties presented themselves as a radical version of liberals, defending moral values “open, cosmopolitan and in favor of individual freedoms”. There they found a way to distance themselves from the sides of the right. What is happening is that as the achievements are being achieved in these areas they have lost importance on the political agenda, either by the stabilisation of the new rights, or by the right-wing parties tolerating them or making them their own. Thus, once again, the differences on the left-right axis have been distorted, and in cases where this has not happened, the economic crises have neglected the post-materialistic speeches in favour of socio-economic issues, generating great frustration, especially in southern Europe and the Mediterranean.

If, before, the left and right policies were small in the economy, the European Union has now reduced them further with the policies it imposes. In view of this, the most important tool for political parties to maintain their fidelity to vote is the defense of elements of territorial and national identity. These are not good times for the cosmopolitan visions that the socialists have “defended” so much. The gap left by classical ideologies has been occupied by the nation and although Manuel Valls has tried to occupy this space, the philosophers on the right are more credible.

In the elections of the French departments, the Socialists, and the Left in general, have only slowed down their decline in urban areas. There have been two clear winners: the centre-right and the National Front. Taking into account the peculiarities of these elections, the large local authorities have a major role to play, and the NNN has achieved extraordinary results with 25% of the votes. It is clear that in the coming years the most important struggle in France will be that which faces the right and the extreme right. There will be debate on identity and sovereignty policies, and the socio-economic issue will have nothing but a link with them.

It has happened in the same way as Israel, the centre-left which was in opposition in the midst of the economic crisis and in the face of the increased life, has not been able to win the elections. The right has shaken all the identity fears and in the face of it the weak and distorted social project of the center-left has not been able to compete, since the right proposes at least something perceptible.

One of the exceptions is that found in Andalusia. It is precisely because the local Socialist Party identifies itself with the identity of this country. The PSOE of Andalusia has a function similar to that of the main nationalist parties in the CAV or in Catalonia. On the contrary, in this autonomous community the majority of the population lives in populations of less than 100,000 inhabitants, where cosmopolitan ideas are seen far away. As you can see far from the party franchises that emerged in Madrid without a clear programme.