LETTER: Rise of Trump and Johnson no surprise
Racism always simmering under the surface
I am surprised by the surprise about the rise of populists such as Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. After serving as ambassador in Western countries for decades I have observed that racism and racial superiority were always simmering under the surface. What kept it in check was the new liberal world order after the shock of Nazi rule.
Decades later, memory faded and populism blossomed for reasons similar to those that brought Hitler to power. Essentially, fear that the white race and its privileges are under threat from equal opportunity created for other cultures by the new liberal order. The huge influx of migrants to Europe and the US due to the growing poverty gap, climate change and natural disasters, and the self-serving policies of Western powers in other parts of the world, have created fertile ground for right-wing populism...
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