Plus: the value of asylum seekers; Brexit; after Merkel As so often with Donald Trump, the move is both for show and at the same time deadly serious. Sending up to 15,000 US troops to defend the border with Mexico against an unarmed “caravan” of Central Americans fleeing violence to seek refuge in America is primarily a way of rallying the Republican base for today’s crucial midterm elections. The images …
Continue readingWho said populism had peaked? Plus Global Compact, steel tariffs & more
Following the Brexit vote and Trump’s victory in 2016, many feared that a populist wave would sweep through Europe. But with the decisive victory of Emmanuel Macron over Marine Le Pen in France’s presidential election last year, anxiety quickly morphed into complacency. Yet France came perilously close to a presidential run-off between far-right and far-left anti-EU populists. Austria’s election was won by a conservative party that has adopted much of …
Continue readingHas populism peaked?
After the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump last year, many had a sense of foreboding about the elections this year in the Netherlands, France and Germany. Xenophobic nationalists who claim to speak for “the people” (their supporters) against “liberal elites” (their opponents) had the wind in their sails. As Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front put it in her debate with Emmanuel Macron last week, “I think I’m …
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