Faced with the democratic crisis we've been experiencing in recent years, especially with the rise of the populist right—or pre-fascist populism—the question is more than obvious: how did we get here? The truth is, this crisis was foreseeable decades ago, and although there were always those who pointed to this problem, seeing fascism everywhere, it was the political class itself that cultivated the ground for all these poisonous fruits to now emerge. Democracy, as we know, is weak, or at least, to defend itself, it doesn't usually do the same things dictatorships do, even though it is the yearning for or nostalgia for dictatorship that has given wings to the neo-right: its discourse is older than walking.
We have always been afraid, we have always felt threatened and precarious, there are always times of crisis looming on the horizon, but now it seems that even the most improbable fears are justified (demographic crisis, climate crisis, cultural crisis, job obsolescence, etc.).
I see it every day on social media: people I considered sensible and insightful are now applauding xenophobic politicians or criticizing long-standing politicians who, yes, have completely disappointed us (whether with independence or with long-term care benefits). The speeches about the 'net boat'They are very old, and in closed and traditional societies they used to be spoken in hushed tones, although now we have seen that everyone has become more uninhibited.
Traditional politics has failed to provide answers or make us understand the sensible alternatives, even to its own ineptitude. This crudeness is now also evident in how we confront it; they seem more concerned about what might happen to their parties and positions than about the fate of democracy or a citizenry that, even if they vote "wrong," doesn't deserve such a blatant betrayal. Now that the most reactionary and cowardly right wing is coming to power, we'll end up in the same place: they won't be able to do anything they promise, and it will all amount to nothing more than speeches, slogans, a few symbolic expulsions of immigrants, even more shameless corruption, and street protests by their opponents.
A disappointment mirroring that of left-wing populism, which reached the Spanish vice-presidency and still holds ministries, let's not forget; probably, one paved the way for the other, making it easier for them to navigate. When lies have become so massive that no one can listen to anything said without feeling utterly ashamed, whoever shouts the loudest wins all the points. So much cynicism, doublethink, empty rhetoric, so many progressives with their arrogant morals while simultaneously raking in millions with their shady dealings—all of this is responsible for the fact that, in the end, the village drunk wants to become mayor, because at least he had the courage to say the king was wearing balloons. It is above all a failure of the civilized right, which has never truly existed, but also of a progressivism that has abandoned the middle classes to concentrate on cultural and identity squabbles that serve no purpose other than to thrive in the shadow of subsidies.
