Well, since we see a surge of right-wing parties in all western countries, I would say they are doing something right. Populism seems to work on a large slice of the population. Offering apparently easy solutions, blaming scapegoats and fueling a culture war combined with media articles, that get written for the most clicks, are a winning recipe for the right.
Offering simple solutions to complex problems, especially if those “total solutions” can not be verified because their goal is unreachable has its point as an explanation. Scapegoating too, since it gives the illusion of freedom from responsibility (it’s cheaper to blame immigrants/LGBT rather than assume one’s own responsibilities e.g. for climate disaster). But to me there’s more: in Italy we passed from a radical left populism (M5S) to radical right populism (Lega/FdI) with the pandemic in between. Shouldn’t people realize that simple solutions do not work?
