Tuesday 11th October
At first glance they couldn’t be more different, the brash aggressive American and the jovial Englishman but they are remarkably similar. Politically they are both of course from the right, instinctively pro-business, pro privatisation (Farage once even promoted a completely privatised NHS) and for reducing taxes for the rich. They both believe in trickle-down economics; reward the rich and they will reward everyone else, even if the evidence is that the rich simply get richer; reward Greed and the greedy get even greedier. Donald Trump is an example, a multi-billionaire who pays no tax and is aggressive in his acquisition of even more…
They both paint themselves as non-politicians, even though both have dabbled in opinion forming and politics for years. They say they are not part of the Establishment but Trump has hobnobbed with Presidents and Senators and lobbied intensively to get his Casino plans approved, while Farage was a stockbroker and has been an MEP for years, raking in a huge Salary and Allowances while very rarely constructively interacting with his fellow European Parliamentarians. And they both state that they ‘Say it like it is”, which rather than meaning telling the truth is really being both Politically Incorrect and reverting to dog-whistle Politics and then denying they are in any way Racist. In fact both of them, much like many Politicians, will lie whenever it is convenient. They present themselves as ‘Ordinary People’ but Donald was the son of a Millionaire and Nigel has been very well-paid for years. They are both ‘populists’ meaning that they will say anything to be popular and change their tune almost in mid-sentence. And this is the crux of the whole issue, they are both incredibly arrogant and love the fame their differing degrees of notoriety bring them. In fact they are really ‘in it’ not to make people’s lives better or even because they believe that their policies (what policies) will work, but as some sort of incredible ego-trip where they are worshipped by adoring hordes they are bound to disappoint sooner or later.
If you want to hear a Politician who is not in it for fame or fortune and who genuinely believes in helping people (even if some of their ideas seem outrageous) you need look no further than Jeremy Corbyn; he doesn’t brag, he doesn’t put down his opponents and he uses reasoned arguments. Which means of course that he is branded a left-wing loony and an extremist and told by the media that he will never win. He may not, but I would rather be led by a principled and honest person than an ego-driven liar who will say anything to get elected.