Why Modi May Be the Most Popular Populist
Unlike his peers, the Indian leader has figured out that seeming to act boldly matters more than being right.
The coronavirus crisis hasn’t dented Modi’s standing.
Photographer: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images
India’s Covid-19 cases continue to climb, even as the economy tanks. China is pressing forward on the two countries’ disputed Himalayan border, where dozens of Indian soldiers have been killed. Tax revenues have plummeted, state governments are unhappy and 21 million of India’s rare salaried jobs vanished in the last few months. And yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi — who recently posted pictures of himself feeding peacocks in his serene garden — remains as popular as ever.
How does Modi do it? While they have responded to the coronavirus in different ways, many of his fellow populists are struggling. Mexico’s Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, faced with crashing poll numbers, flatly refuses to believe they are true. Multiple missteps in recent months have brought Boris Johnson’s Tories practically level with Labour in some recent U.K. polls. Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party is facing a tough set of local elections. And, of course, there’s U.S. President Donald Trump, whose re-election campaign seems to be based largely on pretending the pandemic doesn’t exist.