Popylists cn b bìtn. Ɖr wz a tîm nt loñ ago ẃn fy cd tîp ɖt sntns wɖ confidns, so ɖ ǎtcm v Ostreła’z rīsnt ilex́nz wl līv mni pṛgresivz baṭlñ wɖ ɖ stl unfmiłr snseśn v vicṭri.
Scot Morisn, ɖ nǎ ǎstd rîtwñ prîm̦inistr dubd Ostreła’z frst “post-truʈ” līdr, wz nvr qt a Trumpịn. Bt h wz a śemlis culćrworịr prizîdñ ovr a bungld Covid rspons n insywñ rseśn, plus a clumzi rspons t hî-profîl sx́l msconduct aḷgeśnz agnst parḷmntri colīgz. H dragd hiz fīt on ɖ clîṃtcrîsis īvn az apoc̣liptic fludz, fîrz n drǎts wr cnvinsñ Ostrełnz ɖt smʈñ hd t ćenj, n hoḷdeid in Hwîi az wîldfîrz rejd at hom. Hiz oponnt, Lebr’z Ánṭni Alḅnīzi, wz nt xacli oṿbrdnd wɖ c’rizma n ɖ pṛgresiv vot ivnć̣li split btwn Lebr, ɖ Grīnz n ɖ so-cōld tīl indipndnts, an xasṗretd armi v mnli fīmel canddets plejñ t clīn p poḷtics n tacl ɖ clîṃt. Bt ɖ cōśs Alḅnīzi n hiz mantra v “sef ćenj” – nʈñ tù big or sceṛli radicl – stl md it ovr ɖ lîn, hvñ sīmñli lrnt fṛm a prīvịs Lebr dfit blemd on an oṿambiśs maṇfsto. F eni v ɖs sǎndz uncaṇli fmiłr t Britiś rīdrz, ɖen it’s īzi t si ẃ Cir Starmr’z Lebr parti (n indd ɖ Grīnz) mt sudnli hv ɖer teilz p.
Frst Doṇld Trump, ɖen Marine Le Pen in ɖ Frenć preẓdnśl ilex́nz, nǎ Morisn. Ɖs toṗlñ v rîtwñ doṃnoz criets ɖ sns v m’mntm Britiś pṛgresivz hv bn misñ. Nǎ ɖr r s’xesfl campen arc̣tecs t lrn fṛm oṿsìz, n ny îdīaz biyñ rod-tstd in guvnmnt; ɖr wl b frendz in stṛtījic plesz, phps ny eṇji bhnd globl eḟts t combat ɖ clîṃtcrîsis, n ɖ mral-būstñ îdīa ɖt ɖ zîtgîst mt fîṇli b wɖ ɖm. Y cn olmst fīl ɖ pendyḷm swññ awe fṛm a poḷrîzñ n ultiṃtli grubi ira bac twdz a poḷtics at līst vegli cnctd t truʈ n riaḷti. Or at līst y cn f y wont t badli inuf.
Fr a mor sinicl we v lcñ at ɖs z ɖt tū yirz in, Bîdn’z retñz hv sunc far inuf t gv Rpublicnz plenti v hop fr nxt tîm; Le Pén stl got we tù mni vots fr cumḟt; Alḅnīzi’z vicṭri wz nt ʈumpñ; n Britn’z frst-past-ɖ-post sistm mcs similr Grīn brecʈrūz or pṛgresiv alaynsz hardr hir. Nr z Ostreła, ẃć śiftd rîtẉdz in 1996 jst az Britn wz dwñ ɖ rvrs, historicli a vri rlaybl p’liticl weɖrvên.
Ol ɖt sd, ẃt śd snd a śivr dǎn Tori spînz z ɖt Morisn’z agresivli dvîsiv aproć t iśuz sć az iṃgreśn n hiz psyt v soṣ́li cnsrṿtiv Lebr votrz sīmñli cost hiz parti dir in its wlʈịr, mor metṛpolitn formr hartlandz. Ɖ nagñ fir sm Cnsrṿtivz hv ɖt a dayt v slīz, culćrworz n ʈrets t ter p ɖ Brexit dīl wl onli lūz ɖm Tori vots in Wrɖñ or Suri hz jst pleid ǎt on a big scrīn Dǎn Undr, pṛdysñ rufli ɖ cnd v ilectṛl ri’lînmnt ɖe fir.
Ẃt mcs ɖs uɖ̇wz far’we ilex́n fīl closr t hom z ɖt ɖ Ostrełn rît’s ʈncñ rmenz cor t Boris Jonsn’z project. Priti Ptél’z plan t xport asîḷmsīcrz t Rwanda mirrz an Ostrełn scīm t snd refyjīz t Papya Ny Gini, n ś rīsntli hîrd ɖ man hu ngośietd ɖt dīl t līd a rvy v Britn’z Bordrfors. Lintn Crozbi, ɖ 65-yir-old Ostrełn campenzgŭru hu injôz nir-lejnḍri steṭs in ɖ Cnsrṿtiv parti, dz’nt prsṇli run campenz eni mor bt h stl tecs ɖ od foncōl; hiz proṭźe Îzac Levido ran Jonsn’z s’xesfl 2019 campen, munʈs aftr hlpñ dlivr a s’prîz vicṭri fr Morisn. Devid Canzini, ɖ ny depyti ćīf v stāf instōld at Dǎnñ Strīt t rstor ordr post-Partiget, hz olso wrct closli wɖ Crozbi. Inṭrestñli ɖ sem qsćnz asct in rīsnt yirz abt Crozbi’z cumṗniz n ɖer past rleśnśps wɖ ɖ fosilfyl inḍstri r nǎ biyñ asct in Ẃîthōl, az ɖ guvnmnt reslz wɖ ẃt t d abt sōrñ gasbilz.
Ɖ Treẓ́ri z viẓbli wormñ t ɖ îdīa v a windfōl tax on ôl n gas cumṗniz, jst so loñ az it dz’nt lc lîc Lebr’z windfōl-tax plan. Bt rports ɖt Dǎnñ Strīt cnsidrz sć a muv “un-Cnsrṿtiv” hv set rūmrz swrlñ. Jonsn hz nvr notisbli cerd ẃɖr smʈñ z or z’nt cnsrṿtiv, f it’s popylr. Bt Canzini cerz. H z clos t ɖ pro-Brexit, lo-tax, stroñli îdịlojicl Tori rît in Britn, sm v hūm olso hapn t b hostîl t ɖ net-ziro ajnda n me prifŕ t si fylbilz cut bî scrapñ grīn taxz (ẃć fund ɖ dveḷpmnt v rnywbl eṇjiz in ɖ longr trm) ɖn intṛdysñ ny taxz.
Ɖ ǎtcm v ol ɖs ranġlñ obvịsli matrz most t ppl hu c’nt pe ɖer hītñbilz, bt it’s a litṃs tst v Dǎnñ Strīt’s intnśnz tù. F ɖ windfōl tax dz’nt hapn sm me bgin t wundr – az an uņemd MP sjstd rīsntli t ɖ Tîmz – abt ɖ guvnmnt’s cmitmnt t ban ɖ insṭleśn v ny gasbôlrz bî 2035. Dz Jonsn riyli wont t g intu an ilex́n argywñ wɖ ǎtrejd pnśnrz hu c’nt aford t rples ɖer sntṛl hītñ? Or z ɖs bold clîṃtpoḷsi tù at risc v biyñ dīmd a “barṇcl on ɖ bot”, ɖt feṃs Crozbi śorthand fr enʈñ ɖt criets uņesṣri frix́n or mudiz ɖ mesij?
Contrri t popylr b’lif, Crozbi dsîplz d’nt jst blîndli run ɖ sem hard-rît campen evri tîm. Instd hiz hōlmarc z claṛti, or ɖ diṣplind reṗtiśn v wn ci mesij cerḟli teilrd t ilectṛl srcmstansz, xcludñ evrʈñ els. Ɖt wz az tru v ɖ Lundn meṛl campen h ran, pićñ Jonsn az a cudli libṛl, az v Levido’z tubʈumpñ “Gt Brexit Dn” campen. Bt campenz r ultiṃtli jst straṭjz fr hlpñ a parti svîv in ofis; ɖ’r nt nesseṛli abt pṛvîdñ ẃt a cuntri acć̣li nīdz. Ẃt’s inṭrestñ abt Ostreła z ɖt votrz sīm t hv bn pragmaticli foc̣st on ɖ latr.
Morisn wz faund wontñ in ʈuṛli practicl wez bî clîṃt imrjnsiz n Covid. Sm v Le Pen’z wîldr îdīaz abt tac̣lñ ɖ cost-v-livñ crîsis fél apart undr scrūṭni. Doṇld Trump dd nt mc America gret agn. Simpl ansrz t complex probḷmz apil, bt ɖe d’nt acć̣li wrc, n ẃn ɖt bcmz penḟli obvịs – ẃɖr bcz wîldfîr smoc z ćocñ yr Melbōrn suburb, or bcz yr xportbiznis z c’lapsñ ʈancs t Brexit – ɖen popylists bcm vulnṛbl. Phps ɖ most ysfl lésn t tec fṛm Ostreła z ɖt bad poḷtics cn stl mlt on contact wɖ incnvińnt truɖz. Ɖt fīlñ y vegli rec̣gnîz, bt c’nt qt pt a fngr on? Ɖt wd b hop.
