By Jonathan Power
April 4th 2017
The long talked-about referendum in Turkey will happen on April 16th. In effect voters have to decide whether the president, Recep Erdogan, in theory the incumbent of a relatively modest political post, should now be given the powers of the president and prime minister together.
Populists have chosen a bad time to wrest power. The main weapon at the disposal of the populist is the power to turn conjecture into fact. The danger is in the steady march of populists around the world turning conjecture to fact to law. The populist remains agile and formless, shaping opinion according to necessity, the only consideration being a[Read More...]
This morning, David Brooks seemed genuinely surprised-- even shocked-- that the Trump Regime is turning into a standard Republican class warfare operation against working families. And he blamed it on the loss of clout that has befallen poor Steve Bannon.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the free-market VVD party celebrates after exit poll results of the parliamentary elections were announced in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, March 15, 2017. (AP/Patrick Post)
Despite warnings of a surge in populism, the Dutch voted in incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte for a third term on Thursday, with initial parliamentary election results showing Geert Wilders’ anti-immigrant Freedom Party lagging behind in second.
A crowd cheers as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Baton Rouge, La., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. (AP/Gerald Herbert)
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — The world is in the midst of a tremendous political and global shift, with the rise of populism in the United States and Europe, largely in response to broader economic and social trends which have been materializing in recent decades.
The crowd cheers as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Baton Rouge, La., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
WASHINGTON — (Analysis) Donald Trump’s ascendency to the White House involved endless appeals to “the people” and denunciations of the elite.
During an October rally, for example, Trump said:
Andrés Miguel Rondón references this tweet when he writes: "Label ["the bad guys"]: the minorities, the politicians, the businessmen. Caricature them. As vermin, evil masterminds, haters and losers, you name it. Then paint yourself as the savior.""The recipe for populism is universal.
President-elect Donald Trump waves to supporters during a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
(ANALYSIS) — A new report from NATO is following a narrative trend which began in the US and has since spread across Western Europe, accusing Russia of being to blame for the rise of populism worldwide, as an effort to undermine NATO and the European Union.
