Politics of Fear or Rebellion of the Forgotten?

Donald Trump rode a wave of populism that has landed him the White House. The same happened in the United Kingdom, where populists took credit for Brexit. Upcoming elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands are looking to swing the same way. Voters, it seems, are fed up with traditional elites and mainstream politics and prefer to go with movements that they believe will listen to their concerns.

“There is a populist movement that we haven’t seen in decades,” said Eric I. Cantor, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Moelis & Company, USA. “There is a sense that the establishment, the governing class, has got it wrong. The former Republican US House Majority Leader, despite losing his seat in 2014 to a candidate with backing from the Tea Party movement, came out in support of Trump explaining that Americans are looking for strong leadership, especially when it comes to the economy.

A similar story can be seen in the June 2016 referendum in the United Kingdom, where 52% of votes cast were in favour of leaving the European Union. Many in the “leave” camp were motivated by frustration at the influence of Brussels on British politics and law, by immigration and by broken local economies. “We want to be a self-governing democracy and broaden our horizons,” said Dominic Raab, Member of Parliament, United Kingdom. “The top reason why people voted to leave the EU was to take back control.”

However, Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, cautioned against the inflammatory language of the Brexit and Trump campaigns. “Politics of fear and identity is a toxic combination,” he said, adding that the legitimization of certain language leads to racism and that kind of language does not belong in politics.

De Croo was referring in particular to the immigration issue in Europe that far-right parties have seized on. “It’s too easy to say ‘close the borders and everything will be solved’,” he said. However, Raab countered by saying that if mainstream politicians are not willing to grasp legitimate concerns of ordinary people, it fuels extremists.

Elif Shafak, the Turkish author, agreed that the refugee issue in Europe is a cause for concern. “It’s OK to have worries, but what is not OK is to be guided by fear, when politics is guided by fear,” she said. She worried that democracy, multiculturalism and diversity are being taken for granted today and said that a language of co-existence is desperately needed. Fortunately, she added, young people believe in multiculturalism and the value of diversity so there is hope to reverse the tide of populism.