Still think Trump's not a wannabe dictator?

@Elessar No, during the interbellum. These controversial outsiders need to break into the established political cast in some way. In a 2 party system like the US, that means gaining the favor of the party establishment OR positioning yourself in such a way that the party establishment can't refute your claim for the presidency. In a multiple party system like Italy or Germany during the interbellum, they need to convince established parties that they can make a lasting coalition and they have to offer these established parties something that makes them bite. Once this outsider becomes mainstream... well, it's an entirely diffrent ball game.

Both Mussolini and Hitler had to make a coalition first. And in the German case, their are many documented interviews with people from that time that alowed Hitler to make a coalition (mainly Von Papen who played Hindenburg in favor of a Conservative parties grab to power) that believed they could just control Hitler. If I'm not mistaken, Mussolini made a deal with classical liberals (which is even more ridiculous then the German case if I'm correct about that). Both parties were eventually backstabbed by the fascists... consumed you might say.

Something similair happened in Venezuela with Chavez, who also as an outsider squirmed his way into the mainstream. And in Belgium, really recently btw, the Liberal-Conservative Flemish Nationalist party (the non-radical part, because we have a radical flemish nationalist party too) started out as a party with 1 seat in the Federal governement. And Yves Leterme, fuck him, made a coalition because he believed that this small party could be used as a tool to ascend to power... eventually, the NVA consumed Yves Letermes' party and spit out the bones who are still in governement today. But the NVA is the biggest party of Flanders.

@Elessar Well it's only a parasite when it works out for the outsiders. In the heads of the big party, they are just leeching of them to obtain their goals. But they normalise outsiders, give them a bigger forum to speak their mind too. With really controversial figures, that can just be dangerous. And these radicals, well... they don't let themselves be controlled, they play their own game.

Belgium is way more complex and the NVA is in the governement. They aren't a far right poppulist party but their goal is still to break up Belgium. So far, they aren't radicalised. My biggest fear is that at some point, they'll see a window of opportunity to make a deal with the Flemish Radicals and form a coalition to obtain their common goal, splitting up Belgium. This would normalise the far-right. I think todays NVA head of the party won't do it, but his time will eventually run out... and I don't trust a segment inside that party. Because they grew so quickly, they let a lot of opportunist inside their ranks and some of them are more radical then the party leadership wants them to be.