What is populism and is it so bad? The Oxford English Dictionary defines populism as, “a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups”. This in itself raises no alarm bells, though one has only to delve a little deeper to become rather worried about the political approach which has taken the world by storm over the past decade or so.  

The main issue with talking about populism is how broad the word actually is. The first examples of populists that may pop into one’s head may include US President Donald Trump, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, French MP and Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, or our very own Nigel Farage. All these politicians are right-wing, anti-immigration, authoritarian, and highly nationalist. However, populism is far from exclusive to the right of the political compass. One has only to look Northwards, to Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party, the Italian Five Star Movement, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, or even former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. All nine of these examples are undeniably populist, all pursuing a politics of emotion, of “us-against-them" anti-establishment campaigning. 

As Nick Clegg so eloquently put it in his book, ‘Politics: Between the Extremes’, modern populists rely on three “pernicious assertions”: blaming all problems on another group - for Trump, Mexico or China, for Sturgeon, England; placing a rose-tinted lens on the past – for instance Farage’s reminiscence of Britain’s former empire; and claiming that complicated, nuanced issues can be solved by a single, very divisive action – leaving the EU, building a wall, abolishing tuition fees, leaving the UK.

Every one of these qualities of modern populism are categorically dangerous. It was assigning blame for the “stolen” 2020 election on the Democrats and moderate Republicans that led to the recent storming of the Capitol, which aside from embarrassing the USA to no end, resulted in five deaths. The pinning of hopes on one policy is equally, if not more, threatening. Boris Johnson’s love for three-word slogans is a good example of populism; “get Brexit done” was far easier said than carried out. We have yet to see the true effects of Brexit and so a fair judgement cannot be drawn, though it is doubtful that many people who voted Leave envisioned the turmoil of the past five years, let alone the real results of the actual enactment of the decision. Equally, we must not forget Jo Cox, the MP who was murdered in the street by a far-right extremist the week before the 2016 Brexit referendum. Nigel Farage would eight days later stand up and boast of his victory “without a single bullet being fired”. Arguably, it is this glossing over of the complex nature of politics to appeal to the electorate’s emotional sides that is the true danger of modern populism. 

While populism may be on the rise in recent years, it is far from a new concept. William Hague in the 2001 election accused Tony Blair of cosying up to the “condescending liberal elite”. Ronald Reagan won his two 1980s landslides off the back of a fear of Communism. Enoch Powell, with his infamous 1968 Rivers of Blood speech, created a furore of anti-immigration, populist rhetoric in the build-up to the 1970 general election. Adolf Hitler, with his pestiferous blaming of the Jews and other ethnic minorities, was indubitably a populist. However, while it is not a novel political approach, it is certainly on the rise, with more and more nations succumbing to the rhetoric and division of its peddlers. One has only to look at the recent Polish presidential election, or the polls for the next French one. Despite not winning in November, Trump won the second most votes of any Presidential candidate in US, second only to Biden, the winner. Trumpism is certainly here for the long-haul; even if the man himself is convicted by the Senate and barred from future office, he has spent the last four years preparing a political dynasty of his four adult children, and the events of January 6 proved he has a large proportion of the US electorate almost literally under his thumb. 

Populism is a tricky concept – broad and largely subjective – though it can prove incredibly dangerous. It thrives on polarisation, division, oversimplification to the point of lies. It has no time for nuance, complexion, or decency. It is and will likely remain one of the biggest threats to Western liberal democracies for decades to come.