Why do politicians go populist? Because it’s easy

OAKVILLE, ONT.—Ironically, the political phenomenon known as “populism" isn’t all that popular. Or least, it’s not popular with many in the media, who typically associate it with the sometimes crude, sometimes bellicose, and sometimes coarse brand of populism as practiced by former U.S. president Donald Trump. Yet, even though it definitely has this stigma attached to it, populism as a political tactic isn’t going away anytime soon. Indeed, I guarantee you that in the next federal election, political strategists, regardless of their partisan stripe or ideology, will at some point, make some sort of populist appeal to some segment of the population. It’s as inevitable as a Justin Trudeau selfie. I can say that with the greatest of confidence because populism is actually as old as politics itself. As matter of fact, the word “populist” comes from the Latin word “populares," meaning “favouring the people," and was used to describe a political faction in the ancient Roman republic, which championed the cause of rank-and-file citizens. It could also be argued that in 16th century Germany, Martin Luther used populist-style tactics to undermine the authority of the Roman Catholic church and to help trigger the Protestant Reformation. Later in European history, populist appeals to the Parisian mobs helped bring about the French Revolution, a time when populism was first fused with nationalism. But I digress. The point I’m trying to make here is that populism will always be with us, for one very solid reason: it’s so darn easy to use. I know what I’m talking about because I’ve used populist appeals on numerous occasions to advance a variety of causes. All you need to do is exploit fear, resentment, and anger. And here’s what makes that so simple: people are always angry, fearful, or resentful about something. Now at this point, let me say communicating like a populist doesn’t necessarily mean you need to mimic Trump’s blunt, over-the-top, overly aggressive approach. Sometimes, populist appeals can be nuanced, subtle, and a little bit under the radar. For instance, let’s say you’re composing a fundraising letter for the NDP, a party that’s lagging behind in the polls and that’s stuck with a lacklustre leader. What can you possibly write that will persuade donors to open up their wallets? Well, if you don’t know what else to do, you whip up their emotions with a dose of populism. “Dear NDP Donor, greedy corporations, run by uncaring rich people, who only care about making profits, are destroying our environment, exploiting the poor and oppressing the weak. Even more scary is they’re coming after you next! We’re the only party standing up against their right-wing capitalist agenda. Send us money!!” See how uncomplicated that is? Also, please note, since populist appeals exploit already existing emotions, they can, generally-speaking, be simplistic and concise, meaning they lend themselves to creating snappy bumper stick slogans—“Make the Rich Pay," “Drain the Swamp," “End the Gravy Train." And make no mistake, conciseness in language matters in politics. A typical political TV ad, for example, is usually only 30 seconds long, radio spots, 15 seconds. This is why many political commercials often include some sort of easy to communicate populist pitch Recall the Conservative TV spot of a decade ago that went after former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, by saying “He didn’t come back for you.” Even the nominally anti-populist Liberals will, on occasion, go the populist route. In the last election, for example, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talked about standing up to “oil barons.” So yes, for all these reasons, like it or not, populism isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. Gerry Nicholls is a communications consultant. The Hill Times