INTERVIEW
9 thing to make clear is the sort of discourses or ideologies that were mobilized during this particular vote have unleashed violence . A sort of nationalistic patriarchal identity was mobilized and the spillover effects seem to be quite violent , more than any others .
On a more positive side , I mean , there is a big Leftist backlash . The Brexit decision captured in a kind of identity politics what is much more an equality and class-based frustration . And the task , therefore , for the Left is to reclassify that . That doesn ’ t mean that you don ’ t also need to fight the racial origin of inequality , but it means putting the focus on equality more than on identity in the way that Brexit did and Tory language over the last few years has done .
E2C : Which result surprised you most : Brexit , Trump or the rejection of the Colombian peace agreement ? Why ?
NH : The Colombian one , probably , because I understand so much less about Colombian politics .
Neither eventuality , Trump or Brexit , seems to me surprising , it seems like they ’ re both encoded in the hypocrisies of a Left-governed neoliberalism . The way that Clinton — both Clintons — and then Blair embraced neoliberalism was just so patently hypocritical . Their policies demonstrated to people that they didn ’ t matter , whilst so inauthentically pretending that they do ; the resentment was just gigantic . And there was a huge gaping hole that any self-respecting and halfintelligent populist could step into and say ‘ Ok , I ’ ll tell you that you matter . And I ’ m going to meet your need for mattering by channeling all of your frustration into this Other , which is not a class or power based Other , but just some fictitious raceor gender-based Other .’
Resentment is the feeling du-jour now in most of the Western world , and it ’ s just not being channeled by Leftists and alternatives . Or if it was , in the case of Sanders , or now in the case of Corbyn , these things were completely rejected and sort of demonized as naïve by the part of the center Left . They didn ’ t offer a way of dealing with people ’ s deep emotional dissatisfaction . Farage talks like a bloke down at the pub , even though he ’ s definitely not a bloke down at the pub ; Trump , he talks like he ’ s a crazy grandad . And people genuinely find this appealing , because it at least gives the appearance of authenticity .
It ’ s not that they are definitely and collectively more authentic , far from it , just they managed to mobilize a language of authenticity that works .
Italy
Date : 17 / 04 / 2016 Ref : Italian oil drilling referendum Turnout : 31.19 % Outcome : 85.85 % for 14.14 % against
Tajikistan
Date : 22 / 05 / 2016 Ref : Constitutional referendum Turnout : 91.63 % Outcome : 96.60 % for
3.40 % against the Netherlands San Marino
Date : 06 / 04 / 2016 Ref : Dutch Ukraine – European Union Association Agreement referendum Turnout : 32.28 % Outcome : 38.21 % for 61.00 % against
Date : 15 / 05 / 2016 Ref : Sammarinese referendum Turnout : 47.53 %
Exchange to change January 2017