Yeah, this kind of populism that doesn't even offer any solutions beyond scapegoating rhetoric is really worrying. And things get really bad if, once one of these unfortunately not-so-fringe factions gets strong, there still fails to be a coalition of the sane to prevent the worst.
I mean, Germany learned that rather the hard way in the 30s. It's not like the NSDAP ever got an outright majority as long as there were still free elections, even though they were very good at mobilizing previously non-voting people disillusioned with the political system, it's just that the other parties totally failed to make that system work, were all at each others throat, and thought the crazy demagogue would fail sooner rather than later and they'd benefit in the end more from that, and that the far out there policy positions couldn't possibly be meant for real anyway, rather than as bait-and-switch rhetoric. That turned out to be a very risky gamble they then lost.
no subject
I mean, Germany learned that rather the hard way in the 30s. It's not like the NSDAP ever got an outright majority as long as there were still free elections, even though they were very good at mobilizing previously non-voting people disillusioned with the political system, it's just that the other parties totally failed to make that system work, were all at each others throat, and thought the crazy demagogue would fail sooner rather than later and they'd benefit in the end more from that, and that the far out there policy positions couldn't possibly be meant for real anyway, rather than as bait-and-switch rhetoric. That turned out to be a very risky gamble they then lost.