Hillary Clinton- to prevent the Rise of Right Wing in Europe...

[Nefertiti2]

we must accede to all their demands

[anton pulisov]

Let's invoke Godwin's Law on this one, shall we?

[Lang Spoon]

The bastards never learn. What is the point of this guardian series?

[Kevin S]

Let's invoke Godwin's Law on this one, shall we?

That's just what Hitler would have said.

[Nefertiti2]

She and The Guardian are being torn to shreds in the Comments

This piece really sums up the intellectual bankruptcy of the New Populism series. There is no sense of the profound questioning and critique of the "populism" label in academia: the fact that the term is primarily being used to disallow critique of neoliberalism from the left while legitimizing aspects of rightwing discourse (as in this article). This is part of a longer-term erosion of intellectual discourse associated with the propaganda term "center left" (again, see this article), which in Orwellian fashion attempts to label rightwing policies as leftwing: so the largely Thatcherite policies of Blair and Clinton are redescribed as "center left".

[ursus arctos]

So she's done some good after all

[Pérou Flaquettes]

I’m a Guardian member and a very occasional contributor but I’m less happy with the Guardian these days (been a member since 2015, been a reader since the early 1980s but not very regular one, lack of time more than anything else, plenty of excellent articles, great Long Reads).

It's of course very subjective, but I really think that they should have more stringent quality control in general on societal/political articles, especially about foreign countries, I don’t read it very often (I particularly like the art and culture sections) but these past few years I’ve noticed too many mistakes, approximations or untruths on the few topics I know particularly well.

On the subject of their big "marquee" studies like this one on populism in Europe which I am just discovering. Well, IMO, they’re just not thorough enough with them, half of them anyway they should not even attempt to do or not in this way, with this avalanche of sometimes disparate stats/data/sub-data etc. that they somehow try to pull together and tie up into neat findings. It just doesn't work and even readers with a modicum of knowledge on international affairs or politics will see through that (but yeah, probably not that many readers). Either you tackle this sort of big cross-disciplinary study with a very rigorous approach and cast-iron methodology or you don’t, you can’t half do it or even three-quarters do it. The Guardian is churning out too many articles atm, some of their contributors on politics, society, foreign affairs etc. look fuzzy to me in their grasp of the subject, or ridiculously partisan (with an agenda), and the whole thing can leave you with an "all over the place" feel, if can feel very unwieldy.

What the fuck would s.o like Hillary Clinton possibly know about the intricacies of European immigration? It’s a very complex issue with each country having their own specificities in terms of immigration and migration (you have to link the two if you are to be taken seriously on this most complex of areas). Has she studied the numbers for each country? Has she looked at the complexities and myriad situations behind those numbers? Has she examined the nature of immigration in Europe? Has she factored in FoM in her reasoning? I doubt it. You might as well go and interview any average bar-propper in your nearest Red Lion or Café du Commerce.

I’ve just only come back from work and only had time to have a quick look at their study on populism in Europe. I’m sure there are some interesting stuff in there but the first (and only) page I’ve looked at (this one) doesn’t fill me with great hope. Oh dear, where to start with this page, the methodology is so flawed for starters...

[Tubby Isaacs]

She mentions Merkel's generosity like a fault. What does she suggest should have happened to the people taken in?

Having said that, anything like that happens again, Germany and Sweden aren't stepping up. God knows who would. We're running scared of Brexit pensioners. So probably not us.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Perou, is EU freedom of movement a big "populist" issue outside of the UK?

[San Bernardhinault]

Fucking hell. She really hasn't learned anything, has she?

[Lang Spoon]

Imagine interviewing Renzi Clinton and Blair to gain insights on Populism.

[anton pulisov]

I did their survey and apparently I am a populist.

[SouthdownRebel]

Coming soon on the Guardian:

David Cameron: How to manage your backbenchers
Nick Clegg's strategy for successful long-term partnerships
Boris Johnson on fiscal prudence
Trusting in Youth with Jose Mourinho
Lance Armstrong: Tackling Doping in Sport
Richard Branson's Guide to Launching a Space Rocket

[Nefertiti2]

https://twitter.com/tdn_/status/1065665979378614272

[Nefertiti2]

I did their survey and apparently I am a populist.

These days you're either a populist or a war criminal,

I miss the thirties when you could be both.

[Lang Spoon]

I got Iglesias. Dunno what that means.

[ursus arctos]

Podemos, right of Evo Morales.

I got him too.

[Pérou Flaquettes]

Perou, is EU freedom of movement a big "populist" issue outside of the UK?

I can only really comment on France, not too sure about my 3rd country (Spain), not sure enough shall we say to comment about with authority, although things are fast changing there, I wrote a post a few days ago about that.

In France, the main issue with FoM (but it is relatively minor I'd say) is linked to the 1996 Posted Workers Directive, what the French call "Travailleurs détachés", official figures say there are about 300,000 of them in France but estimates say it's likely to be twice as many. They are to be found mainly in the building trade, agricultural sector and things like shipyards (eg there's been grumblings from the unions that ~25-30% of shipyard workers at St-Nazaire & sub-contractors, the huge Chantiers de l'Atlantique where they make some the biggest cruise ships in the world employ many EU nationals - mainly Romanians, Poles, Italians, eg this article: https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-...change-5212733 - which means that they have a French salary which can be quite high -depending on their speciality- but pay the social charges of their country, much lower than in France obviously given the French levels of social protection. Macron's groused a bit about it but really, he knows that it also benefits France).

The haulage and transport sectors are seen as a problem in France in relation to this 1996 directive, as this sector is not covered by the Posted Workers directive and this has generated resentment from French-based transporters. As you can imagine, there are unscrupulous bosses (French and foreign-based, who work through agencies) particularly who have made a habit of flaunting the regulations (few checks really). So typically, say, a big company in Lille needs loads of stuff transported to Marseille, instead of using a Lille-based transporter, the big company calls an agent in Poland or Slovakia for him to find a local company, who gives them an estimate for half the cost of the French company. Said Slovak truckers do the job for far less, agent finds him other job missions so he ends up staying 1 month in France etc. (this recent article deals with this problem but there are many others on the Net, for more info google "travailleurs détachés et transport routier en France". This is not just a French problem, the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) regularly complains about it but France is the biggest user of them with Germany so it's more acute there. The problem is also this: Fraudulent Contracting of Work: Road Haulage Sector. Also this: https://www.journaldeleconomie.fr/Tr...out_a5369.html

[Nefertiti2]

https://twitter.com/EricRoyalLybeck/status/1065691882456580096

[Snake Plissken]

I got Iglesias. Dunno what that means.

Dammit, I've got nothing

[Gerontophile]

I got Bernie Sanders. Nothing to do with the politics of course...

[Lang Spoon]

Heh, I know who Seņor Ponytail is, just dunno what that implies about my Grauniad scored Populism.

[Lang Spoon]

Gero you’d make a lovely couple.

[Gerontophile]

Yeah, just me.

[anton pulisov]

These days you're either a populist or a war criminal,

I miss the thirties when you could be both.

Hehehe