Editor, RE: “Britain’s populist fantasies” (The New Times, September 17). The anti-establishment movement in Europe is a response of people waking up to the realisation of exclusion in major decision making. Politicians from mainstream parties seem to be interested in preserving the status quo at all cost instead of starting to deal with people’s needs and concerns. The rise of anti-establishment parties in Europe has been primarily a response to strong public dissatisfaction with aspects of the status quo that dominant parties don’t want to address. For too long, politicians of all stripes have engaged in a collective unwillingness to answer questions, turning evasiveness into a skill and they keep perfecting that skill of public manipulation. These politicians have matched George Orwell where he says, “A curious feeling that one is not watching a live human being but some kind of dummy… who has gone some distance toward turning himself into a machine. The appropriate noises are coming out of his larynx, but his brain is not involved, as it would be if he were choosing his words for himself.” Unfortunately, the public is well aware that those unemotional, uninvolved, cold politicians are not there to serve them but themselves and the interests of the globalised elite class at the detriment of the ordinary people. The rise of anti-establishment movements in Europe shouldn’t be a surprise if one has to take into account issues related to alienation, disillusionment, extreme inequality, rising poverty, exclusion from major decision taking (such as the current undemocratic, compromising and secretive negotiations on TTIP with the US corporations), etc…. People are starting to realise that multinational corporations based economies are not necessarily beneficial for the average citizen, and yes the US and its western supporters are responsible directly or indirectly of many ills in the world with their imperial and hegemonic attitude towards the rest of the world; and yes most people will support politicians who are willing to deal with their basic social needs. The London riots, the Scottish recent victory and the majority win of Corbyn should serve as a reminder that mainstream parties and their status quo are soon to be a thing of the past mostly in Europe. More importantly, it’s not a surprise that people are not happy about being under monarchy, a very ancient, medieval and unfair form of governance and its implications on people’s freedoms, more telling of the callous British politics is its insistence of maintaining a multitude of colonies around the world in the 21st century! Ndoli Sabi
