By Daily Nation
The year 2019 ended with widespread demos, rising inequality and a crisis of representation in many countries. The world is sleepwalking toward recession and a new crisis while depleting the environment.
Some 61 countries will have presidential or parliamentary elections. Many citizens are tired of conventional orthodox policies; they want to change, and they will choose new parties to achieve this.
POPULIST RHETORIC
This is an opportunity to redress the situation but many of the emerging leaders are far-right demagogues who blame social-welfare policies, migrants and the poor while aiming to remove all constraints on capital. As in the United Kingdom, many will vote for these politicians, making the world more unequal and riskier.
A lot will be decided in the United States, still the world’s hegemonic power. How US citizens vote in the presidential election will have profound consequences for the rest of the planet.
US President Donald Trump has already had a big impact on the world, eroding multilateral institutions, trade agreements and global initiatives in his “America First” agenda. Despite the populist rhetoric, Americans in the main have benefited little. His large tax cuts for the wealthy, healthcare access cuts and increases in the defence budget are regressive, resulting in increased inequality. Read more>>
