Tag: Fidesz

S houldn’t the anti-populists have started to rally by now? If the responsible liberal technocrats are right about populism, and it is led by dim bulbs, or the corrupt, or the compromised, we should see signs of it falling on its face. Shouldn’t we? The year 2015 was the year that shocked the system. You know what comes next: Brexit and Trump’s victory. Or you can try to shore up liberalism with a bit of authoritarianism and political brinksmanship of your own. Liberal European figures have tried mixtures of all these strategies, and they continue to fail. He now has an approval rating that matches Donald Trump’s at his depth. Populists may fail where they achieve power and office, because their ranks are so filled with amateurs, cranks, and bounders. You can’t write down Ireland’s debts, because the French consider the country a co-conspirator with American tax avoiders.