POLITICS BELOW THE BELT

POLITICS BELOW THE BELT

More than two decades ago Patrick Buchanan was stirring up the emotions of the American people in a revolt style campaign  – picking up on everything that was wrong, and telling the masses they have been getting a raw deal.

Emotional voting has become even more prevalent, and a real worry is that its winning the hot seats!

Western Society has always been extremely proud of it evolution into Democracy and letting everyone have a say in how to lead and manage their respective countries. I’ve searched for the true definition of Democracy but there are many views on what it is. However, a common theme amongst the various definitions is that it needs to include Political Freedom and the Rule of Law – all citizens are equal before the law.

In addition to the above, there are various social norms that need to exist – and of course, the current clanger – everyone has an equal vote and they can vote from their head or heart!

However, my favorite definition of Democracy is: Democracy is three wolves and one sheep voting on what to have for supper

For decades Democracy, has stood steadfast as a beacon of hope for citizens of countries the world over – just like seeing the Statue of Liberty as you fly into New York.

However, recently the heart seems to be winning as people struggle to keep faith in politicians who seem more self - serving than driving issues that will better the quality of life for their constituents. We shouldn’t be surprised as its been coming for a long time now. Heard any of these:

·        My favourite mythical creature? The honest politician;

·        Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be      changed regularly, and for the same reason;

·        I remember when Halloween was the scariest night of the year. Now, it's Election night;

·        I don't approve of political jokes...I've seen too many of them get elected;

·        Don't steal. That's the government's job;

Let’s look at Brexit. The post Brexit Polls indicate that the British people no longer trust their leadership and it’s not just about politics, it is about history -- about who the British think they are. For the majority, they feel far from their roots and from what made them great. Issues such as immigration and an increasing gap between the wealthy and needy also played a prominent role. So they voted emotionally!

In the recent American Presidential election Donald Trump made a whole heap of promises based on the audience he was targeting – with no plan or reasoning behind it, some of these included: Build the Wall, Repeal Obamacare, Imprison Hillary Clinton, Ban Muslim Immigration and monitor Mosques, Diminish the Freedom of the press, Order the US military to torture detainees and kill the families of terrorists, Abolish International Trade Deals, Renegotiate international alliances, allow nuclear proliferation, Cancel the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, etc.…

Some of these were outlandish and stirred up a lot of emotion, but realistic or emotive? Not even weeks after his stunning victory Trump is already backtracking on several of these promises - including: Jailing Hillary Clinton, pulling out of the Paris Climate agreement, repealing Obamacare, calls to bring back certain torture techniques, softening his stance on deportation promises and with more to come.

So, what are the Long-term effects of both these emotional campaign victories? Well with Trump it’s still early days but the signs of discord between the rest of the Western World and America seem to indicate longer term problems. However, the biggest challenge is going to be going from “selling something he doesn’t deliver.” It was a passionate race that spoke straight to the heart – and now the people want what they were promised!

While with Brexit, the ‘Fools Gold’ – markets jumped to new heights but on the back of Sterling’s decline, is over and the true effects are being felt. Chancellor Philip Hammond's Autumn Statement, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said leaving the EU could cost the UK nearly ￡60bn! There were a whole lot of issues covered in the Autumn Statement, with some of them being contentious. However, the concern is that they cover so many of the critical issues that affect the British people, including (and without going into too much detail): a rise in debt / GDP, a drop-in Govt spending, downgraded growth forecast, a black hole in NHS funding, etc. That’s not to say there weren’t some positives, but it certainly is a far cry from what the British people were expecting when they voted to separate itself from the rest of Europe.

And then closer to home we had the ANC at first and recently the gain in prominence of the EFF – both stirring up emotion and making promises no responsible public figure / organization should make.

So, in summary, we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place – politicians who haven’t delivered for years on end, voters who don’t fully understand the consequences of their vote and future leaders driving their campaigns through lies and false promises.