Trump's defeat: is the tide turning on populism?
European media discuss whether the global trend of nationalism and isolationism has peaked and begun to lose momentum in 2020.
No longer at its peak, but not moribund either
This year showed the limits of populist politics, Helsingin Sanomat writes:
“For nationally minded populist politicians, 2020 was a real annus horribilis, a terrible year. There was one main reason for this: the coronavirus pandemic. What the populist politicians of different countries have in common is that they do not take professionals or scientific information seriously, and that they emphasise the wisdom of ordinary people - above all their own. However, such a mindset was not effective with the coronavirus. The fall from the peak was rapid. ... But populist politics is certainly not a thing of the past yet. Much depends on the traditional parties finding solutions to the populism-fueling insecurity and learning new ways of doing politics.”
Mini-Trumps everywhere
Populism is by no means on the wane, political scientist Valentin Naumescu laments on Contributors:
“Trump's electoral defeat puts an end to his ill-fated US presidency, but not his ideas. ... Around the world, Trumpism is still operating in its various versions. The Brexit, in the broadest sense of the word, is also part of this populist protest, this hypocritical nationalism and half-educated chauvinism, the political consequences of which will affect our lives for many years to come. ... In Romania we also have a caricature version of Trumpism that has entered parliament. It has local elements that make it tragic-comic and finds its essence in the same strain of Trumpism that is flooding the democracies in the Euro-Atlantic region.”