In the last two decades support for populist parties has more than tripled, giving them enough support to get into government in eleven European countries, research from The Guardian newspaper has concluded. They data covers 20 years and 31 European countries. It was analysed with the help of 30 leading political scientists. Research shows three main reasons for the sharp rise of populism: the financial crisis causing growing inequality, the refugee crisis, which was a catalyst for right-wing populists, and lastly the transformation of non-populist parties into populist ones.