(Jewish Group) The roots of Labour's antisemitism lie deep within the populist left

[Behind the Aegis]

(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP! RESPECT!!)

In Britain we sometimes imagine that populism lurks in our future or over there, in Donald Trump’s America or Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. Even those who are alarmed by the prospect of populist politics and all it entails take comfort that we’re not there yet, that it’s still some time, or distance, away. But what if that’s wrong? What if it’s already here?

If populism is a politics that pits the virtuous mass of ordinary people against a wicked, corrupt elite, then Britain was an early adopter. The leave campaign won in 2016 by suggesting the noble British people had been cheated of their democratic birthright by the evil bureaucrats of Brussels. Now the Brexit party offers textbook populism, railing against an establishment bent on thwarting the “will of the people”.

But populism in Britain does not begin and end with Nigel Farage. Boris Johnson is remoulding himself into a populist figure too, not least to take on Farage. His refusal to rule out the suspension of parliament to drive through a no-deal Brexit is a move that would make even Orbán blush. Like all populists, the Hungarian leader would happily argue that only the will of the people matters and that all other institutions that safeguard liberal democracy – the rule of law, an independent judiciary and civil service, a free press – are obstacles to be cast aside to ensure that will is done. He calls it “illiberal democracy”.

While Orbán has sought to emasculate the courts and the press, even he has not yet dared to bypass parliament. Johnson, however, refuses to rule out that very move, just as he trashed the principle of a non-partisan, professional civil service when he failed to defend Britain’s ambassador to Washington, effectively firing Kim Darroch for the crime of giving expert advice.

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[nycbos]

1. This can't be stressed enough