In Principio August 2017

The politics of populism is not a new phenomenon, but the world is witnessing a seismic shift in voter mindset. This wave of popular discontent partly contributed to: the Brexit vote – and more recently the outcome of the election in the United Kingdom and the dramatic rise of a virtual unknown to the leadership in France; to the election of Donald Trump to the White House; and to the rebirth of One Nation and other niche political parties in Australia. Notre Dame’s political experts, Associate Professor Martin Drum, Dr Daniel Baldino and Associate Professor John Rees explore the fascinating world of populist politics and its impact across the world. A lot has been said and written recently about election results, whether in Australia, the UK, the USA or France. Whilst Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Marine Le Pen, and Jeremy Corbyn advocate quite different policies, one thing which unites them is their critique of ‘business as usual’ politics. We are experiencing interesting times when many people feel that they have missed out in a globalised world, where secure stable employment is less common, and governments are seen to have failed in delivering good outcomes for them. Australia is similar to these examples in some ways and different in others. Australians continue to vote in large numbers against the government of the day. In fact, the last Australian government at the national level to get a swing towards it at an election was the Howard government in 2004. At every election since, the incumbent government has got a fair kicking. Australian voters who are disappointed with politicians generally have a host of smaller parties to choose from and they are doing so in ever-larger numbers. At the 2016 Federal Election, in the House of Representatives, almost a quarter of the electorate voted for someone other than Labor or the Liberal-National Coalition – the largest percentage ever. In the Senate, it was more than a third. This vote was split between groups as diverse as the Greens, One Nation and the Nick Xenophon team. Many Australian voters are indeed looking for someone different; they just can’t agree on who that someone is. Associate Professor Martin Drum Populism is not a new phenomenon. But we are witnessing a global upsurge in recent years. For instance, Donald Trump is the first person ever elected to the White House who has not held high political, governmental or military office. The ‘drain the swamp’ war-cry proved to be a highly effective campaign pitch with strong revolutionary undertones. In short, Trump had a type of a no- nonsense, ‘wrecking-ball’ appeal. This was even starker when contrasted with his direct opponent Hilary Clinton, who was a life-long public servant and a DC ‘insider’ with more government vast experience in a wide range of high profile areas. Trump himself later admitted he initially did not like the corny ‘drain the swamp’ slogan but embraced this new mantra when it started to poll well among US voters – particularly white working-class voters who were fearful and even hostile towards globalisation and immigration. Froman Australian perspective, this more unpredictable global strategic outlook does reinforce the need for an overarching and coherent national strategy framework that can assist the evolution of foreign and defence policy as well as in making judgements about Australia’s national interests. This should include addressing the habit of blind loyalty in regard to the US alliance. Australia does need a robust US alliance but it also does not need to be a ‘deputy sheriff’ – it should always be seeking greater independence albeit within an alliance context. Dr Daniel Baldino ‘Populism’ can be understood inmany ways; it’s a term that has been applied to the electoral shocks of 2016 such as Brexit in the UK, the Trump Presidency in the USA, the election of Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, and the rise/ return of One Nation in Australia. According to the populist script, strong personalities such as Donald Trump, Nigel Farage or Marine Le Pen emerge as ‘The People’s’ representatives to challenge the faceless power of global elites and to champion the traditional community interests and national identity of common people. Yet the story that has unfolded ismore complicated: the new French President is a champion of economic globalisation; Canada’s Prime Minister an advocate of global multiculturalism; the new Prime Minster of Ireland is a 38 year- old gay son of an Indian migrant; and the Mayor of London is a Muslim. Above all, the big winner from the 2017 UK election was Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, an old school economic socialist riding high on a surge in the youth vote. Therefore, populism hasn’t cornered the market on either ‘personality politics’ or electoral success in the West. We are witnessing global clashes of culture as well as class, of sentiment as well as opportunity, of values (notably toward outsiders) as well as security. Populism will certainly find its niche, but one senses that The People will continue to vote for a mix of flamboyance and policy, not so much allergic to change as wanting a stake in deciding what the future looks like. Associate Professor John Rees F E A T U R E A S S O C I AT E P R O F E S S O R MA R T I N D R UM , D R DA N I E L BA L D I NO A ND A S S O C I AT E P R O F E S S O R J O HN R E E S I N P R I N C I P I O | 2 1