"If mainstream politicians cannot make a sensible case for reining in spending, we risk the rise of a strongman leader. We've been here before. Tax revenues soften, interest rates stay high, unemployment edges up."
"Within 18 months, the conversation will turn to cuts. Big cuts. The question will not be whether they come, but who bears them and who claims to defend the common good."
Tax revenues are softening, interest rates remain high and unemployment is edging up. Within 18 months, public debate will center on large spending cuts. The central issue will be which groups shoulder the burden and which political actors claim to defend the common good. Failure by mainstream politicians to present a credible, fair plan to rein in spending will increase public frustration and fear, creating political space for an authoritarian or populist leader promising decisive protection. Such a leader can exploit distributional pain to consolidate power and scapegoat vulnerable groups, threatening democratic norms.
Read at Independent
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