Chainsaw Politics: Cutting down the democratic establishment? | To The Point

From Europe and the US to Argentina: ever more voters are turning to politicians who promise a radical break with mainstream politics. Populists and nationalists curry favor with simplistic solutions for complex problems ranging from inflation and inequality to migration and climate change. Bashing Islam propelled Dutch firebrand Geert Wilders to victory.

Argentina‘s Javier Milei wielded a chainsaw to demonstrate his intentions, while Donald Trump promises to spend his first day in office as a dictator. Is outrage the new recipe for success? Have elites failed…or could they enjoy a comeback like Poland’s centrists? We’re asking: Chainsaw Politics: Cutting down the democratic establishment?

Our guests:
Matthew Karnitschnig is Politico’s chief Europe correspondent, based in Berlin.
Rob Savelberg, correspondent for Germany and Central Europe at the Dutch newspaper de Telegraaf
Karolina Wigura is a Member of the Board of Kultura Liberalna Foundation, which publishes one of Poland’s leading weeklies, and Associate Professor in Sociology at the Univ of Warsaw

Chapters
00:00 Will the elections next year pose a risk to democracy?
2:40 What is the secret of Donald Trump’s ongoing appeal?
03:50 What accounts for the success of Geert Wilders in Netherlands?
06:40 Leadership is crucial in pushing back against populism
09:20 Populist Javier Milei in Argentina: chainsaw politics
11:00 What is the mainstream doing wrong?
12:30 Are democracies at a disadvantage in solving complex problems?
15:30 People are looking for simple answers
17:00 The US is in the midst of a cultural war
18:30 Economic issues are not the main determinate of elections
20:30 A sign of hope in Poland
22:20 Is democracy at risk?
24:00 Europe is not prepared for a Trump victory

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