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Populism

This Month

Elon Musk and Donald Trump at a January pre-inauguration event.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump are splitsville, until they aren’t

The pair did not have a feud five days ago and might not have a feud five days from now. Until proved otherwise, all of this is theatre.

May

Romania’s prime minister Marcel Ciolacu.

Romanian PM resigns after surge in far-right vote

The European nation has been gripped by a political crisis as a candidate aligned with Donald Trump rocketed in presidential elections.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

How AI and Wall Street beat Trump at his own game

Even if Mickey Mouse were president, the US would still be on the way to 4 per cent growth because private-sector innovation promises to offset bad policies and erratic policymaking.

April

Global leaders had to wait until Donald Trump’s Rose Garden press conference to learn their fate.

How Trump has soured my American dream

There was a chilling edge to the president’s declaration this would be “an entirely different country within a short period of time”.

March

We have restrictive zoning laws that, combined with our national preference for detached housing, have led to low housing density in major capital cities.

Productivity problem empowers populist right

We had better get our act together in Australia or we may court the kind of poisonous politics wreaking havoc in the United States and across Europe.

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US President Donald Trump is trying to rapidly end the war in Ukraine.

How Trump plans to use an ‘autopen’ conspiracy to overturn laws

The president claimed multiple pardons issued by Joe Biden were void because he used a robotpen, embracing a baseless right-wing theory.

MAGA

Why the MAGA faithful could bring down Trump

The president is entering new and dangerous territory as he pushes ahead with inflation-raising tariffs that could hit US consumers.

Dutton’s net approval rating, which is his approval rating minus his disapproval rating, fell 4 points over the last month to minus 12.

Appeal to aspiration to avert a minority government

A hung parliament would just exacerbate the populism, opportunism, and polarisation that are already destabilising the political system.

February

The annual award of stars still has chefs on edge.

Why we need simple signals of elite status more than ever

The more information there is in the world, the more we need simple signals of elite status to cut through it all.

Tony Abbott speaks at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London.

Guess what shocked 4000 right-wingers in London about Australia

The conference dubbed “Woodstock for conservatives” displayed the growing confidence of the right, showing the shift in the Western intellectual landscape.

Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz is set to become the next German chancellor.

Germany’s new leader may face Trump with one hand tied behind his back

Friedrich Merz faces urgent economic and geopolitical crises. But to form a coalition he needs to turn foes into friends – and that will make it hard to govern.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said that if he were prime minister, he might force insurance companies to divest assets.

Dutton’s populist plans won’t cut your grocery bills

When politicians reach for the first ‘populist’ policy they can find to address voter concerns about rising prices, they’re doing a disservice to themselves and the electorate.

Peter Dutton and shadow treasurer Angus Taylor do not want to scare voters before the election with more radical proposals on tax, industrial relations and spending cuts on the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Populist politics won’t make insurance cheaper

Peter Dutton has reached for a big stick without any attempt to explain how breaking insurers up into smaller companies would lower the cost of insurance.

President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath of office.

America is engaged in a ‘rich white civil war’

I’m not a fan of populism, but real populism would be better than the right-wing elite nihilists who are running the country now.

Vance meets German far-right leader amid election interference claims

The pair met after the US vice president controversially endorsed the AfD as a political partner ahead of Germany’s poll later this month.

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President Donald Trump reiterated an assertion he would prevent Elon Musk from auditing an area where there was a conflict of interest.

Why Trump and Musk are set to trample all over the courts

The judiciary poses the ultimate test of whether the president will break the system as the pair set about slashing government spending and cutting staff.

January

Argentinian president Javier Milei lays out his vision of geopolitics in Davos.

Argentina’s Milei tells West: Join Trump’s anti-woke alliance

The firebrand, chainsaw-wielding libertarian says a new axis is forming that wants to stamp out bloated bureaucracy and politically correct ideology.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden debating at CNN’s Atlanta studios.

CNN sacks 200 employees as news broadcaster faces ‘profound’ shift

The cable network let go of 6 per cent of its workforce as it focuses on streaming and digital audiences amid declining ratings.

A scene from the December picket line outside the London offices of the Guardian and Observer.

Why it’s an unhappy new year at Guardian HQ

The ructions at the Australian arm echo the reports of low morale and spiky political divisions at the left-liberal news outlet’s London head office.

German populists turn heads with fake air tickets for illegal migrants

Alternative for Germany, the Elon-Musk-backed party pushing for second place at next month’s election, says ‘only deportations can save Germany’.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/populism-1m4k