Martin Liby Troein: Power will not turn Jimmie Åkesson to a sweet lamb

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has made a remarkable journey. When he was elected just over four years ago, it was as aggressive vänsterpopulist. His party Syriza said flatly ' no ' to austerity and refused to accept the rest of the euro area's terms and conditions for new economic rescue package.

When Angela Merkel in the summer of 2015 put Greece ahead of the elections to either find themselves in further cuts or leave the monetary union did Tsipras, however, if. Since then he has taken on responsibility for restructuring the Greek economy. The once radical Syriza has in practice replaced the social-democratic Pasok as the country's pragmatic mittenvänsterparti.

the leader board takes Arvid Åhlund Alexis Tsipras's trip as a pretext for ”ytterkanternas inevitable normalization”. In other words, when the populists are placed at the handles and is confronted with the reality softens the. A journey to the centre takes place automatically.

Sure, it would be nice if it were so, that the populists and other ytterkantspolitiker turn into well behaved and responsible little lambs – only they are released to power meat stews.

Unfortunately, it is true not. In fact, some even radical. For each of Alexis Tsipras, there is a Hugo Chavez or Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tap. It is not that EU membership is forcing pragmatism. Hungary's Viktor Orbán has during his ten years in power steadily stepped up attacks on the media – now to the point that it no longer counts as a full democracy by Freedom House.

populists to the left, it is pretty well-established which is the most decisive factor for how they are acting when they reached power: the economic room for manoeuvre. In the heavily indebted countries with open economies – such as Greece – discipline the market mercilessly.

Kulturkrig and the politics of identity is cheap. To blame immigrants, muslims, and feminists working in all weather conditions.

It will be too expensive, economically and by extension politically, to deliver on the promises of radical reforms. When the leader – like Chavez in Venezuela – has access to oil and tour with world market prices, press the instead of the gas in the bottom.

to the right, it is economic room for manoeuvre less important. Kulturkrig and the politics of identity is cheap. To blame immigrants, muslims, and feminists working in all weather conditions.

For the actors in the policy-wide center that may affect the influence of right-wing populists should be given is, therefore, an excellent principle is: Let the transformation come first and the power ago. Then is not everything and fall with a pious hope.