The Guardian (January 8)
Many of the voters who voted for Brexit “felt abandoned and unheard in an increasingly unequal Britain marked by vast wealth in parts of south-east England and austerity and post-industrial abandonment elsewhere. Income levels in London have risen by a third since the financial crash–but have dropped by 14% in Yorkshire and Humberside.” Their concerns are real, but “all the major parties have, in different ways, let the country down on Brexit,” making a second referendum essential.
Tags: Austerity, Brexit, Financial crash, Income levels, Post-industrial abandonment, Referendum, UK, Unequal, Voters, Wealth
Wall Street Journal (December 4)
“A carbon tax is in theory a more efficient way than regulation to reduce carbon emissions. But after decades of global conferences, forests of reports, dire television documentaries, celebrity appeals, school-curriculum overhauls and media bludgeoning, voters don’t believe that climate change justifies policies that would raise their cost of living and hurt the economy.”
Tags: Carbon tax, Climate change, Conferences, Cost of living, Economy, Efficient, Emissions, Regulation, Reports, Voters
Wall Street Journal (October 22)
“Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won his third consecutive landslide victory on Sunday. That doesn’t mean voters are enamored of the man who is on track to become Japan’s longest-serving leader. Local commentators attribute his victory to TINA, short for ‘there is no alternative,’ and they have a point.”
Tags: Abe, Alternative, Japan, Landslide, Prime minister, TINA, Victory, Voters
The Economist (October 21)
“Populism’s wave has yet to crest.” Yet the gestures Trump is making “to his angry base” are unlikely to bring relief. “The demise of NAFTA will disproportionately hurt the blue-collar workers who back Mr Trump. Getting tough on immigrants will do nothing to improve economic conditions.” Instead, “mainstream parties must offer voters who feel left behind a better vision of the future, one that takes greater account of the geographical reality behind the politics of anger.”
Tags: Anger, Blue collar, Gestures, Immigrants, Mainstream, Nafta, Populism, Trump, Vision, Voters
The Economist (August 27)
“In the wreckage of the Arab world today, many act as if the idea that Islamists can play a useful democratic role is broken, too. They are being repressed anew by reactionary regimes, challenged by violent jihadists and looked upon with suspicion by voters whom they failed…. Yet the blanket repression of all Islamists is the worst possible response. In the end, it will lead only to more resentment, more turmoil and more terrorism.”
Tags: Arab, Democratic, Islamists, Jihadists, Reactionary, Regimes, Repressed, Resentment, Suspicion, Terrorism, Turmoil, Useful, Voters, Wreckage
LA Times (January 1)
Americans want Trump to succeed. In a recent “Pew poll, most voters who supported Hillary Clinton said they were willing to give Trump a chance. But he’s on thin ice. Even among his voters, Trump’s honeymoon could turn out to be short.”
New York Times (August 12)
“When Mr. Trump fans racist rage against the president, suggests that gun owners take up arms against Mrs. Clinton, or speaks darkly of a ‘rigged’ election, he is not trying to woo Republican skeptics, independents or undecided voters. He is appealing to the mob.”
Tags: Clinton, Election, Gun owners, Independents, Mob, Obama, Racist, Rage, Republicans, Rigged, Skeptics, Trump, Voters
Los Angeles Times (July 24)
“Clinton will, and should, use her acceptance speech to provide a vision of what she hopes to accomplish as president and to excoriate Trump for his extremism.” She must also “work hard to make voters trust her. She is a steady and serious candidate with a commanding grasp of the issues. Going beyond her usual perfunctory defensive responses is an important step toward winning voters to her side.”
Tags: Acceptance speech, Candidate, Clinton, Extremism, Issues, President, Serious, Steady, Trump, Trust, Vision, Voters
The Economist (July 2)
“It is now a week since voters narrowly opted for Brexit, and the country has seldom looked so wildly off the rails. The prime minister has handed in his notice. The leader of the opposition is struggling to survive a coup. The pound hit a 31-year low against the dollar and banks lost a third of their value, before stabilising. Meanwhile there is talk in Scotland and Northern Ireland of secession.”
Tags: Banks, Brexit, Dollar, Northern Ireland, Opposition, Pound, Prime minister, Scotland, Secession, UK, Voters
Washington Post (June 24)
“British voters have defied the will of their leaders, foreign allies and much of the political establishment by opting to rupture this country’s primary connection to Europe in a stunning result that will radiate economic and political uncertainty across the globe.”
Tags: Allies, Establishment, Europe, Leaders, Stunning, UK, Uncertainty, Voters