Populism
On The Rise – 13/11/16
00:00:05:22
November 9th. People gather to pay tribute to
General de Gaulle, an unchanging tradition held at Colombey-Les-Deux-Églises.
The second-in-command of the Front National, Florian Philippot, is always in attendance. And this Wednesday, the
day of Donald Trump’s election, he is in a celebratory mood.
00:00:25:10
INTERVIEW
WITH FLORIAN PHILIPPOT: There
was Brexit, and there is Trump…Some years ago in
France, there was a referendum on the European Constitution. It was the first
historical signal. People do not want to be imposed upon by an oligarchy, by
the media, by finance. We want to be able to vote freely, and to take back our
own destiny. Next May, anything is possible. When the French want, the French
can. When the British wanted, they could. It is the same for the Americans, and
we will do the same in France.
00:01:17:11
It is a rainy but happy Wednesday for the Front’s supporters.
While most Europeans swing between disbelief and anxiety, here everyone is gleeful.
00:01:31:10
INTERVIEW
WITH FN SUPPORTERS: A very
good result in America. After years of piss-taking, now they finally understand.
It is an indicator of change in France! I hope. The people are fed up with this
nonsense. They take us for idiots. Forcefully, there will be a reversal. They
had given it to Clinton, and they were mistaken! They knew it, but they did not
want to say it.
00:02:10:04
The surprise election of Donald Trump on November 9th
marked the high point of an auspicious year for those fighting against the
establishment, those who rally against the elites - right-wing populists, as
they describe themselves.
The list goes on. In December, the landslide of Marine Le
Pen’s Front National. The most successful of France’s parties in the country’s
regional elections, winning over 27% of the votes.
00:02:41:23
MARINE
LE PEN SPEECH: The shift
has been set in motion. The impact of our cause will finally make the fortress
crumble.
00:02:51:07
This spring, there was also success for Norbert Hofer, from
the Freedom Party of Austria. He is now within a hairs breadth of winning the presidency,
having ousted the established parties. The final vote will take place in early
December. Hofer’s win would be the first of its kind in Europe.
00:03:10:24
NORBERT
HOFER: I tell you, dear
friends. The Austrians are more skilled, they are highly intelligent,
intelligent enough to bring this coalition to power.
00:03:23:03
In Germany, it is Alternative
für Deutschland whose star is rising
– a young party that is barely three
years old.
In the last regional elections, they surpassed some parties
that had historically been considered unmovable in certain states.
00 :03 :41 :04
AFD SPEECH: Each election is a vote
for or against the madness of the migration policies of the dictator Chancellor
in Berlin!
00:03:52:10
Populist parties are currently riding a wave. But this
political commentator believes that the underlying reasons for such momentum
are not always the same.
00:04:00:00
INTERVIEW
WITH POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It
would be wrong to explain the success of populism through the socio-economic
situation of the country in question. We have two examples. In France, the
unemployment rate is very high. But there are some countries where populism is
very strong, and the unemployment rate is very low. And sometimes, the country
is prosperous, like Austria, Switzerland or the United States.
00:04:42:01
Finally, in June, there was the earthquake of Brexit, signalling
the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union. Despite the support of
the parties in power, despite the polls… it was the rhetoric that resonated
with the voters.
00:04:58:12
NIGEL
FARAGE: This will be a victory for real people, a victory for
ordinary people, a victory for decent people.
We have fought against the multinationals, we
have fought against the big merchant banks, we have fought against big
politics, we have fought against lies, corruption and deceit. And today
honesty, decency and belief in nation, I think now is going to win.
00:05:30:09
Romford, in the east of England. A region which voted 70%
in favour of Brexit. We are at the market. Here also, we find that Americans had
real motives for voting as they did.
00:05:46:16
WOMAN
1: Who would have believed
that Donald Trump would have got in a year ago? He was
like the mad professor. But it happened! The Americans wanted change, they
wanted their country back.
Change
is good. Here we have a new policy, that Great Britain comes first from now
onwards.
00:06:05:09
WOMAN
2: Oh my God! It happened? It really happened… let’s
hope that now he’ll do something, we must let him have his chance.
Everyone
talks, talks, talks and nothing gets done.
00:06:23:05
JOURNALIST:
How does that make you feel?
00:06:25:18
WOMAN
2: You get angry don’t you,
I get very angry.
00:06:10:10
UKIP, the anti-Europe party, has channelled this anger perfectly.
00:06:38:03
MAN: Once the genie is out of the box, it’s
difficult to get it back in…and that is what has happened…people have seen that
their vote really does count… these last years there was a feeling that it was
always the same thing, whatever the choice. Brexit and Trump prove that our
vote counts.
It is
a backlash against multiculturalism. People want to identify with something,
with their ancestry, their history. It is a wake-up call. Multiculturalism has
failed. Its role has changed and people are fed up with it.
00:07:19:08
Thierry Hermann is a linguist, specialising in political
discourse. When populist leaders succeed, it’s thanks to their powerful
rhetoric, which Donald Trump has pushed to the extreme.
00:07:37:24
INTERVIEW
WITH THIERRY HERMANN: His
average level of vocabulary, syntax and otherwise, corresponds to a primary
school student. We’ve never had a level as [bat]. The other candidates are
sometimes too complex to be understood by a large part of the population. His
discourse is adapted for the biggest possible mass. The gestures are quite
aggressive. He opens his arms, as if to say “it’s obvious, why has nobody
thought of it before.” There are “Trumpisms”, words
which reoccur frequently, like “believe me”, “croyez-moi”,
which means “I have the answers, trust me”. With me, things will be simple.
00:08:48:09
Such discourse is simple but devilishly effective among
voters…and also among the media, who are often caught
in their own trap.
00:08:58:00
MARINE LE PEN SPEECH: It is pathetic that the press, polling institutes, intellectuals want to suggest things to the country…
00:09:04:09
INTERVIEW
WITH POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: There
is an intimate, unconscious, mechanical complicity between the spectacular character
of populism and what the media need to capture the attention of the public.
00:09:21:04
These political parties help and support one another. On
Friday in Dresden, Frauke Petry,
the AfD’s leading figure, read out the message she
sent to Donald Trump.
00:09:34:01
FRAUKE
PETRY: Dear Donald Trump. The
democratic decision of the American people offers you a historic chance to
correct global downward spirals, economic and social factors of the past.
The
times are changing, and the AfD’s electoral successes
show that in Germany too, the times are changing. We too will take back our
country.
00:10:02:14
Joining a right-wing populist party in Germany is far from
insignificant. But André Barth did not hesitate. He was a Social Democrat and
is now a member of the AfD.
00:10:15:03
ANDRE
BARTH: In regards to
Auschwitz, an SPD politician said once again yesterday that it represented a
caesura, and that nationalism no longer has a role to play in Germany. Me, I am
of the opposite opinion: healthy nationalism reinforces unity within society.
But this nationalism should not be exaggerated, and should never place us above
our neighbours.
00:10:41:17
Breaking with old habits, but reassuring the public too.
This is the equation that allows populist parties to expand on an electoral
base previously confined to extreme reactionaries.
00:10:54:18
A meeting at 165 rue Jeanne d’Arc
in Paris, permanent residence of the Front National. The average age of those
present left no room for doubt on Thursday evening. In France, over 35% of
18-24 year olds would vote for the Front National today. This is the case for
Guillaume, 20, who is busy behind the scenes.
00:11:16:22
INTERVIEW
WITH GUILLAUME: I have
been with the Front National since May 2016. I am in the final year of
information and communication at Paris 3. I initially joined the Front National
for the ideas of Marine Le Pen and Florian Philippot.
Our aim is to stop the globalist march by regaining our sovereignty – monetary,
fiscal, territorial – and to be the masters of our own fate in France.
00:11:45:05
The Front National is raring to go. Everyone will be
watching them during the French presidential elections in May 2017.