The rise of Donald Trump and Brexit are a direct result of the way politics has changed. The divide between Left and Right is diminishing and more and more voters are turning to either Globalists or Nationalist.
‘For a lot of people globalisation passes them by – those are the people who voted for Brexit,’ says Brian Friedman, chairman of Leaders in Mobility, in London.
Friedman continues by saying that globalisation should not always be considered something positive and that many people have not benefited from it and became poorer. As globalisation feels like an ‘unstoppable force’ those who oppose it are trying to push back using their national identity. One of the key objectives of globalisation is that there are no barriers for entry but that is a clash with the national identity of many citizens who feel their jobs were taken over by foreigners or left their home country.
Friedman argues that what made Trump so successful is the decrease in manufacturing jobs in the US. People fear that foreigners will break their traditions and bring instability to local communities. ‘In the past everybody voted with their wallets, but with Brexit it is voting about globalisation,’ says Friedman. He believes the economy and politics have never been so far away. Politics has won over economical logic. ‘Free trade makes us better off. Barriers makes us worse off but it is not about the economy anymore.’
As the old political model doesn’t work anymore parties will need to embrace the idea that people are no longer purely Left or Right and that national identity has never before been so important.
To finish Friedman underlines the three new values of Western politics: globalisation, populism, protectionism.
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