A Virus to Kill Populism, Or Make It Stronger
Crises can herald new political eras. The question is whether the pandemic makes or breaks the likes of Trump, Bolsonaro and Salvini.
Jair Bolsonaro covers his face with a face mask during a press conference regarding the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic at the Planalto Palace, Brasilia on March 18.
Photographer: Sergio Lima/AFP via Getty Images
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The last global crisis paved their way to power. The question is whether the latest one will loosen their grip on it.
Fallout from the 2008 financial meltdown produced an electoral earthquake that upended postwar party politics, brought a new breed of populists to government and decisively shifted the balance among global powers toward China from the U.S. Novel Coronavirus may prove just as disruptive.