Martens Centre
  • Home
  • About
    • Who we are
    • Team
    • Bodies and Experts
    • Members
  • Publications
  • Events
  • News
  • Blog
  • Contact

Warning: Undefined variable $lock in /home/clients/0aee7ac7fc8ad72a3a23bcc4ca043604/web-martenscenter.eu/wp-content/themes/martenscentre/header.php on line 459
back

Publications

  • Home
  • About
    • Who we are
    • Team
    • Bodies and Experts
    • Members
  • Publications
  • Events
  • News
  • Blog
  • Contact
Share this...
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Email

The Middle Class: Priorities for the 2019 Elections and Beyond

02 March 2018

Compared to the 18 months preceding the 2014 elections, the mood music in Brussels could scarcely be more different. But while growth and employment are increasing, vast swathes of the established middle classes have lost faith in their ability to achieve a higher standard of living and to match the social mobility achieved by preceding generations. Increasingly topics such as globalisation, free trade, immigration and even stable political systems are viewed as tools of the “elite” designed to prevent progress for working and middle class families. Politically, this has manifested  itself in a fracturing of the traditional party political system and the rise of a protectionist, combative populism.

To confront these challenges, this paper identifies five social and economic priorities that should form an important element of centre right policy formation. With the ultimate objective of rejuvenating an aspirational middle class in Europe, we argue that only by bridging the gap between the rhetoric of a digitally driven, flexible economy and the day to day realities confronting middle class families can the centre right hope to increase working and middle class support in the 2019 elections and beyond. Such an approach is based on the core social market economy principle of seeking to conciliate economic freedom with social security, while maintaining a high level of personal responsibility and subsidiarity.

Download the publication

See the publication in a flipbook

The Middle Class: Priorities for the 2019 Elections and Beyond

IN FOCUS

Eoin Drea

Related events

  • Putting gender equality and work-life balance at the heart of a growing Europe

    29 January 2019

  • Centre-Right
  • Economy
  • Macroeconomics
  • Middle Class
  • Social Policy
  • Society

Related publications

  • Activity Report 2022

    Activity Report

    Activity Report 2022

  • Mistaking the Wood for the Trees: Five Ways the EU can Deliver a more Competitive Industrial Policy

    IN BRIEF

    Mistaking the Wood for the Trees: Five Ways the EU can Deliver a more Competitive Industrial Policy

  • Up, Up and Away? A Price Stability Guide for Policymakers

    IN FOCUS

    Up, Up and Away? A Price Stability Guide for Policymakers

  • Beyond the Headlines: The Real Impact of Western Sanctions on Russia

    Other

    Beyond the Headlines: The Real Impact of Western Sanctions on Russia

  • The Long View: A Centre Right Response to the Economic Fallout of War in Ukraine

    Ukraine

    The Long View: A Centre Right Response to the Economic Fallout of War in Ukraine

  • GDP, not the Bond Yield, should Remain the Anchor of the EU Fiscal Framework

    IN FOCUS

    GDP, not the Bond Yield, should Remain the Anchor of the EU Fiscal Framework

  • Regulating the Digital Future: A Centre–Right Approach to Crypto Assets and Digital Currencies

    Policy Briefs

    Regulating the Digital Future: A Centre–Right Approach to Crypto Assets and Digital Currencies

  • Activity Report

    Activity Report 2021

You might also be interested by

  • Thinking Talks Ep.9 – ‘The Spectre of a new Banking Crisis’ with MEP Luděk Niedermayer

    Multimedia - Thinking Talks

    31 Mar 2023

  • The Windsor Framework Shows that Germany is Key to a British Recovery

    Blog

    03 Mar 2023

  • EU-Central Asia: An Underdeveloped Relationship

    Blog

    15 Dec 2022

  • Brussels Bytes

    The Digital Markets Act with Andreas Schwab, MEP

    Brussels Bytes - Multimedia

    08 Dec 2022

  • Easy Money has Warped the Economics of Power

    Blog

    28 Sep 2022

  • After the Easy Money Comes the Hard Political Reality

    Blog

    12 Jul 2022

  • Stablecoins are Crypto’s Feet of Clay

    Blog

    09 Jun 2022

  • Reconquering the West

    Blog

    24 May 2022

  • Regulating the Digital Future: Can Europe lead the Crypto and Digital Currencies Revolution?

    Live-streams - Multimedia

    10 May 2022

  • The Future of the Russian Economy – Echoes of 1918?

    Blog

    15 Mar 2022

Related events

    • 29 - 30 November 2022

      European Ideas Forum 2022

      European Ideas Forum 2022 2023-04-01

      Brussels

      In-House Events

    • 15 November 2022

      Net@Work 2022

      Net@Work 2022 2023-04-01

      Double Tree by Hilton, Rue Gineste 3, 1210 Brussels

      Common Projects

Stay updated on Martens Centre Activities, Events and Publications

  • Navigate

    • Home
    • About
      • Who we are
      • Team
      • Bodies and Experts
      • Members
    • Publications
    • Events
    • News
    • Blog
    • Contact
  • More

    • A word from Wilfried Martens
    • European People’s Party
    • Join the team
    • Privacy Policy, Cookie policy & Legal
  • Contact us

    0032 (0)2 300 80 04
    20 Rue du Commerce
    1000 Brussels, Belgium

Copyright © 2023 | Martens Centre ALYS

This website uses cookies to improve your experience, click here for more info. ACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Go to mobile version