Amanda Gorman, poet laureate
Where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
There’s always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it.
Jan 20, 2021
Coffee…happiness…inauguration…toast…Biden…more happiness…jam…vim…vigour…Kamala…crunch…open feed…sip….sip….White House…drop toast…squint…
Logic would have it that granting a pardon means the beneficiary has actually done something illegal. On the face of it, we assume that Bannon’s been pardoned for his sins in the ‘Build the Wall’ swindle: he misappropriated funds collected from donors for his own personal use. On closer inspection, as always, Seth Ambramson provides a far more credible working hypothesis: Bannon knows too much. Since 2016, he’s been part of the Trump team, acting as a liaison between the Trump team and foreign assets meddling in American affairs, namely, Russian assests and other actors in the Middle East. After Nov 3rd, he came back as Trump’s advisor in the same role. It would be pure fantasy to think that Trump has rewarded Bannon for his loyalty: Trump is a trasactional politician: he wouldn’t do anything for anyone unless it’s a benefit to him.
But….But….I put Bannon aside and…I didn’t give into deflating thoughts…because…
Joseph R Biden Jr was sworn in as the 46th President along with Kamala Harris as Vice President.
The ceremony itself wasn’t particularly extraordinary: it was, more importantly, a long-desired moment of release, of oxygen, of closure, an end to almost 5 years of an emotional tsunami which had impacted our daily lives. Everything that needed to be there, was; powerful images, voices in song, hope-filled words for the challenge to come.
Kamala Harris’s oath triggered more tears. What a moment of significance for women and men and minorities in the US and around the world, and how I wish this were the norm. When she raised her hand, we all became witnesses. Kamala Harris is the first Black woman of Asian heritage to become Vice President. In a highly symbolic gesture, she dressed in purple in honour of Shirley Chrisholm, the 7-term NY Representative- the first Black woman to be elected to the US Congress.
So as I’ve done when feeling joyful, I took to my kitchen and rustled up an all-American dinner, complete with New York style cheesecake for dessert, and then I began to ponder President Biden’s speech:
Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war, and we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.
Boom! Realisation hit: we came so close to total democratic collapse, to four more years of lies and disrespect and crimes and bad make up, the authoritarian glee club cheering in the background. That didn’t happen, of course, but the cracks in our democracies were being pried open.
When I look on to Europe and the US, as well as many other parts of the world, In my view, there’s been a profound transformation in the political landscape. Albeit the most important, Trump was but one radical right-wing populist among so many others, popping up like porcini mushrooms in the sun, after a rainy day.
According to studies carried out by the Populism in Action Group at the University of Birmingham, there are currently 66 populist parties just in Europe, and the Group’s keeping tabs on all of them. They’re generally divided into two camps, with one excepton: 68% are on the right (31 radical-right populist parties, 10 national-conservatives and 4 neo-liberals) while 16.7% are on the left (6 socialist populist parties, 5-a combo of socialism & nationalism) with the remaining 15.1% categorised as ‘valence’ populist parties, which means they’re a little confused or opportunistic (my opinion)- they base their identity on values like competence, performance and anti-corruption rather than the traditional left-right collocation.
Being a political child of the 80s, I kept hoping this would change. I’d like to take the more traditional centre-left and centre-right parties by the shoulders and give them a good shake…”wake up…stop being ambiguous!” Year after year, poll after poll, they seem to be losing more and more consensus as well as elections, so I wonder:
Is populism here to stay? Is this the new normal?
Instead of eating my way through this state of malaise, I asked Prof Daniele Albertazzi, director of the Populism in Action Group, to join me in a chat about the world of populism, in the hopes that he may answer this most pressing question.
As we make our way from Europe to the US, we’ll be talking about the nature of populism, why it’s been so successful with the European and American electorate, what mechanisms populists use to increase trust and appeal as well as issues pertaining to possible future developments.
There are some aspects about populist leaders that are a mystery to me: their ability, for example, to present themselves as warriors fighting the establishment. Bear with me: I see stadiums filled with MAGA-clad rally-goers cheering wildly at the ‘drain the swamp’ trope; Luigi di Maio (ex-leader of the 5 Star Movement) was famous for saying they were going to ‘open parliament like a can of tuna’. Both leaders then governed and became the establishment. If they are the establishment, are they fighting themselves?
In my talk with Prof Albertazzi, we may not get into to another concern I have: populist parties pride themselves on the fact that they represent grassroots activism, and that’s how they explain their success. Yet, there’s a consistent body of literature pointing to a network of transnational relationships between national populist parties and, in some cases, authoritarian foreign actors.
Here I’m referring to Russian hybrid warfare, that it has been waging across the West since 2014: it has provided funding and executed a series of other active measures in aid of the populist and/or destabilising political forces inside various Western democracies. For example, much has been written about the close ties between Russian actors and the main players in the Brexit campaign, as well as the Trump 2016 campaign. In the first case, Brexit was certainly a desirable outcome for the Russians, as they were actively seeking to weaken the European Union, and in the second, they must have licked their chops when Trump won the presidency. In all likelihood, Trump’s presidency would mean a decreased presence of American hard and soft power around the globe: this was Trump’s gift to Putin.
Therefore, I’m eager to know to what extent populist parties and their leaders in Europe really represent their electors, or are they simply doing the bidding of foreign actors and their interests. How much of the growth of these parties can be attributed to foreign interference and how much to grassroots activism? Should Putin go into retirement, would populism subside in Europe?
Now flip the coin over: if populists are winning the ground war, mainstream parties are losing it, miserably. They seem to be in full retreat. Observant analysts like Claire Berlinski say the problem lies in the belief that liberal democracy had emerged victorious from the Cold War. Our future was done deal: we could bask in the soft glow of political pluralism, free market capitalism, and peaceful coexistence. Not. After 2008, European leaders failed to face the fallout from the 2008 crash, issues around the migration waves, and ‘ultimately a 'demographically unsustainable welfare state’. The most often cited criticism is that liberal democracy hasn’t dealt with these issues with any degree of satisfaction. Europe and its mainstream parties are in a rut: how can they get out of this black hole and make up electoral ground?
These are just some of the issues pertaining to populism that I’m eager to talk about with Prof Albertazzi. He’s probably one of the most balanced and objective political studioso-analysts I’ve had the good fortune of listening to in various webinars, so remember to tune in to the pod on Jan 22.
Focus on…
Understanding right-wing populism in Italy
Prof Daniele Albertazzi, Director of the Populism in Action Group, and Research Fellow Mattia Zulianello provide an authoritative look into one of Italy’s big bad boys of the radical right, Matteo Salvini, head of the League. The discussion focuses on how the League developed so quickly and the extent of its hold on the Italian political and social scene as well as a look at its future.
Hot off the presses…
Who was the first to…
As per Giovanni Russonello at the New York Times
Christine Hauser has taken a fascinating dive into Inauguration Day firsts. Franklin Pierce was the first president to tweak the language of the oath, using the word “affirm” rather than “swear” and breaking precedent by not kissing the Bible.
Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to be sworn in on Jan. 20. The date had previously been in March, but the 20th Amendment changed the protocol.
Harry Truman’s second inauguration was the first to be televised. Jimmy Carter began an informal custom when he unexpectedly got out of his limousine and walked down Pennsylvania Avenue. In 2009, Barack Obama became the first president to take his oath of office twice, after he and Chief Justice John Roberts were tongue-tied during the official event.
Understanding the Coup Trilogy…
In his latest Guardian op-ed, Brendan O’Connor hit the nail on the head: “The Capitol riot wasn't a fringe 'uprising'. It was enabled by very deep pockets.” At CTP, we were on the ball, talking with investigators and scholars who were looking into those ‘very deep pockets.’
If you haven’t had the chance yet, listen in to the ‘Investigating the Coup Trilogy:’ with Prof Anne Nelson, Dr Emma Briant and Brent Allpress, taking us from the inception of the Council of National Policy, the operations and agents of the influence industry, to the current investigations into the Jan 3rd coup.
What I find deeply disturbing are the claims coming from right-wing pundits that the violence unleashed on the Capitol was really an anguished cry by ‘political prisoners’ of a system they see as unresponsive to their needs: the victimhood narrative. Put simply, this is rubbish. They can’t be further from the truth.
On CTP Podcasts, we were fortunate to interview these great investigators:
Prof Anne Nelson: ‘Shadow Network’
Dr Emma Briant: The Global Influence Industry
Brent Allpress: Investigating the Coup
What I’m working on…
Radical right-wing extremists, paramilitary groups and the web of their transnational relationships as prep for my talk with Julia Ebner.
Scottish independence as prep for my talk with MP Alyn Smith of the Scottish National Party
Regaining the trust of the electorate as prep for my talk with Marco Cappato of the Luca Coscioni Centre.
I couldn’t resist…
After the inauguration ceremony, Twitter displayed all its creative verve. Bernie Sanders’s fashion statement didn’t go unnoticed: ‘Vermont Dadcore’ or so I’ve been told. Comments ranged from, ‘he’s just stepping out to the post office’ to ‘he’s back from the woodshed.’ It’s certainly put Bernie back in business.
Feel free to comment here or DM me @MoniqueCamarra on Twitter.
For emails: coffeetalkpolitics@gmail.com
Many thanks to Davide Cortese, senior researcher.
Thanks for reading, and if you found this at all informative, tell a friend!
Mo