Center-left parties across several democracies, including in the United States, are struggling with a familiar affliction: a clearer sense of what they oppose than of what they stand for. Voters looking for an alternative want to know what a center-left government would actually do with power, not just what it would undo.

That vagueness is not cost-free. It cedes the terrain of bold, legible policy ideas to populists of various stripes who, whatever their flaws, are rarely accused of failing to say plainly what they want.

A center-left agenda organized around competence, affordability and a credible economic story would do more to rebuild trust than another cycle of purely defensive messaging. This is an opinion piece and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily Bear News 365’s editorial position.