Populism feeds on suffering

"Poland and Switzerland are to elect their Parliament on the same day [October 21st]", points out the editorialist Yves Petignat. He attempts to explain the populism present in these two countries. "In fact, at the heart of populism, whether Polish or Swiss, there is deep suffering. Facing the acceleration of globalisation and information, the complexity of problems and solutions, large swathes of society feel they have lost their grip on and control of their fate. Not as individuals, but as a community. People are desperately in search of the shreds of a collective identity. ... Up until now, traditional parties, cloaked in virtue, have been contented to condemn the expression of this suffering, racism, sectarianism, xenophobia. But who has really stopped to consider this deep malaise, this quest for a collective identity?"

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