Is Hitler the only racist left?

[Louis VI the Fat]

Furunculus, not everybody who favours lower taxes is a populist. But all the rightwing populist parties that are currently sweeping over Europe share roughly the same traits that I described, of which lower taxes is a natural part.

Once in an elected office, especially at the lower levels, these populist politicians almost invariably turn out to be such depressingly inept muppets that even their very own voters are thoroughly put off. And they usually don't have very high standards to begin with.

At the top, Europe's populist parties consist of well educated, sharply dressed people with a deliberate aura of some moderation. This top is usually very narrow. Directly below, below the first ten or twenty members of their organisation, there gapes the abyss already. That army of shady businessmen, taxi drivers, outright criminals and other muppets who fill their ranks and run for elected office. In their minds, they are the ones who ought to run the country.