NewsBite

Opinion

Gideon Rachman

Coronavirus could kill off populism

Populists hate to be unpopular. That is why Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro have proved so bad at handling COVID-19, a crisis that brings nothing but grim news.

Populists hate to be unpopular. That is why they have proved so bad at handling COVID-19, a crisis that brings nothing but grim news – death, economic destruction and curtailed freedoms.

Donald Trump, the US President, and Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s President, are the two most prominent populist leaders in the Western world. The disastrous results of their approach to the coronavirus are now becoming apparent. Last week, Brazil became the second country in the world, after the US, to record more than 50,000 COVID-19 deaths.

Loading...

Financial Times

Gideon Rachman is chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times. His particular interests include American foreign policy, the European Union and globalisation.

Latest In Politics

Fetching latest articles

Most Viewed In Politics

    Original URL: https://www.afr.com/politics/coronavirus-could-kill-off-populism-20200630-p557hw