Populist anger is ‘a gift wrapped in barbed wire’
The Flemish author and poet David Van Reybrouck has spent his career writing about those whose voices are only rarely heard. His books include a travelogue set in post-apartheid South Africa and the award-winning “Congo: The Epic History of a People” about the former Belgian colony.
In his latest work, however, he has turned his attention to a group of “voiceless” people much closer to home: voters in Europe and the United States.
A feeling of disenfranchisement, Van Reybrouck argues, lies behind the anger on display among electorates across the West. The rise of populists like Donald Trump in the United States, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, Marine Le Pen in France and Frauke Petry in Germany, and the fury on display during the Brexit debate all share a common cause: an attempt by establishment politicians to shut down the debate. It’s because citizens are feeling excluded that the shouting is getting louder.
“The anger of citizens we see today is not a danger for democracy,” says Van Reybrouck. “It’s a gift. It shows that people are committed and are willing to engage with their society. It’s a gift, but it’s wrapped in barbed wire.” The trick, with this gift, he says, is to figure out how to unwrap it.
