Leader who truly cares: FDR showed that populism per se is not wrong. What matters is how and for whom it is deployed as a political strategy. — TNS
NOWADAYS, the word “populist” tends to carry predominantly negative connotations. After all, the kind of men (most of them tend to be men) that have embraced populism, both in personal branding and actual policymaking, tend to come from shoddy backgrounds and oversee one blunder after another while in office. Just look at the world’s worst-performing nations in terms of public health and economic management amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and you will see a long list of “populist” leaders in charge.
Some populists tend to put too many generals in charge of addressing a public health crisis while embracing a protracted and devastating lockdown. Others tend to resist even wearing masks and relish contradicting their own top health experts.
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