A big problem with elites is that they often fall into the trap of believing in trendy ideas that have no basis in reality.
Look at politics, for example.
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Since Brexit and Donald Trump shocked a disengaged ruling class in 2016, many elites have been desperate to promote the idea that we have reached “peak populism.”
These revolts among millions of disillusioned voters have, they say, lost steam while very few people across Europe want to follow the British and register their disapproval of the EU.
But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Because?
Because in just a few weeks the EU, still insular and disconnected, looks set to be hit by the biggest populist wave to date.
Just look at the latest electoral forecasts across Europe.
While center-left, green and liberal centrist parties appear set to suffer significant, if not major, losses, a variety of national populist and ultra-conservative parties appear poised for significant gains.
In France, Marine Le Pen’s lead in the polls is growing, not shrinking. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni’s party remains dominant, as does Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party in Hungary.
In Germany, Alternative for Germany remains in second place, while Belgium’s Flemish Interest also appears poised to make significant progress.
In Austria and the Netherlands, the Freedom parties are also leading the polls, while in Sweden the Sweden Democrats, who have just launched their election campaign with the slogan “My Europe builds walls”, in reference to the current refugee crisis , they are effectively the ones who make kings. in Swedish politics.
And, by the way, it’s also not led primarily by older voters who will soon disappear over the horizon.
Contrary to all those columnists and commentators who usually like to dismiss populism as a haven for retirees, it is actually now gaining considerable support from young people.
In Germany, for example, a fascinating new study of some 2,000 young people, aged 14 to 29, found that 22 percent of them plan to vote for the national populist Alternative for Germany, compared to just nine percent two years ago.
In many other countries, too, populists are gaining support from young Zoomers of Generation Z and Millennials.
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In France, for example, in the most recent presidential election, those under 35 were more likely than those over 35 to vote for Marine Le Pen, who also points to disillusionment with the country’s disastrous experiment with mass immigration. .
Like their parents and grandparents, many younger voters are deeply concerned about what mass immigration, the ongoing refugee crisis, and the spread of radical Islam mean for the future of their liberal societies, including their hard-won rights. to women and same-sex couples. .
In fact, another recent study found that populist parties are now gaining much higher levels of support among LGBT people than in the 2000s, many of whom are also deeply concerned about how, if at all, they will hold up. their rights crucial if radical Islamism continues to assert itself across Europe.
And these trends are still limited to Europe.
Only an idiot would try to argue that we have already reached ‘peak populism’.
Although you won’t hear it among the expert class, who console themselves by telling each other that populism only appeals to the elderly, white working class, in the United States Donald Trump is making significant gains among Latino, Hispanic and African-American voters. who are completely fed up with the woke left and how Joe Biden has completely lost control of the southern border from him.
While Trump continues to lead Biden in six of the seven battleground states that will decide the November election, many minority voters have watched in horror as elites demand completely ridiculous policies like “defunding the police” or being softer on crime and drug addiction. cities, knowing all this that they will not be the ones who will have to suffer the consequences of these decisions.
Bigger and bolder
If we put all this together, then only an idiot would try to argue that we have already reached ‘peak populism’.
If anything, this movement is only getting stronger, not weaker, especially as it reaches new generations of voters who, like the British in 2016, are completely fed up with how mass immigration, broken borders, crime and sprawl of Islamism, woke ideology and disconnected elites are weakening their societies from within.
And as the rapidly approaching European elections will almost certainly reveal, until elites pull their heads out of the sand by acknowledging and addressing these concerns, the populist wave now engulfing the old parties and politicians will continue to grow ever larger. .