Abstract

Our point of departure is the decline of the «permissive consensus» and growing polarisation on Europe evident in the outcome of the 2019 European parliament elections, and within social-democratic parties. Against this background, we first discuss the meaning of support for European integration – distinguishing «Europeanism» and «critical Europeanism» from «Euroscepticism». We then make a first attempt to map the terrain of critical Europeanist parties and organisations in the four largest EU member states and transnationally, before presenting a profile of DiEM25 as an ideal-typical critical Europeanist organisation at the pan-European level. The two following sections consider DiEM25’s message and how effectively it is communicating it. We conclude by suggesting a number of reasons for optimism concerning future public receptiveness to the message arguing that it offers social-democrats a new narrative and therefore possible way out of a long-standing electoral decline bound up with the declining hold of their more traditional narratives.