In Germany, center-right Christian Democrats and center-left Social Democrats are in trouble. In the neighboring Czech Republic, the country’s mainstream parties “find themselves in an advanced state of decay,” says Karel Schwarzenberg, the former Foreign Minister, ex-presidential candidate, and friend of Václav Havel. Enter billionaire populist Andrej Babiš. It is happening across the West, this loosening of voter ties to traditional parties, these vacuums being filled.
Lawmakers who “owe just about everything to him [are] perfect foot soldiers” for a leader with “an expansive notion of power.” He has “almost unchecked authority … building a fawning cult of personality.” No, this …read more
Source:: The American Interest
