JONNY STEINBERG: The populism poser
To understand why populism is soaring across the globe, we need to look at its roots. When the post-war economic boom stalled, blame fell on the eloquent and the politically correct; people took a punt on crass strongmen such as Trump. In SA, Malema articulates the mass disenchantment better than most. But South Africans, by and large, aren’t likely to actually vote for him. For Cyril Ramaphosa, our wariness of extremes is a tool he could use
28 November 2019 - 03:00
It is accepted wisdom that we ought to learn from history. But turning to the past sometimes blinds us to what is going on in front of our noses. So it is with the current global wave of ethnic, nationalist and religious populism.
In Hungary, Viktor Orbán has effectively closed down television stations, newspapers and a university critical of his policies against foreigners.
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