Interesting South African article of Kerry speaking there against populism
Former US secretary of state John Kerry rolled into town this week to talk about one of the things that is keeping the world’s sane people awake: the rise of populism.
Kerry, who stood against the incumbent George W Bush for the presidency in 2004 and then served as Barack Obama’s international pointsman in the second term, is, at 73 years old, a grand patriarch of American politics. I’m not sure whether it is the years or the tens of thousands of kilometres of cross-continental travel, but his gait is now betraying his age. The brain, however, is betraying nothing. He is as sharp as a brand-new razor.
At this week’s Old Mutual Wisdom Forum, Kerry laid bare the bankruptcy of Donald Trump, and the clear and present danger that his populism poses to the world. He outlined, with passion, how Trump is taking his country and the world backwards, all in the name of fulfilling his vacuous slogan of “making America great again”.
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Then along came Trump, determined to undo all the achievements of Obama. Driven by maniacal populism and an uncontrollable hatred of Obama, Trump set in motion the dismantling of his signature projects. The Paris accord and the Iran deal – so crucial for the world’s future – fell victim to this. Trump’s actions disregarded the fact that his administration could have reaped great benefits from Obama’s policies, benefits he could narcissistically claim credit for. However, all he could think of was the support of the rednecks to whom he had fed populist rhetoric during his 2016 election campaign.
https://www.news24.com/Columnists/Mondli-Makhanya/populism-is-a-losers-game-20171110