Ruby Rose recently joked on twitter that Pauline Hanson, leader of Australia's right-wing One Nation party, may in fact be Donald Trump in drag. Whilst some have quickly dismissed this as a joke in bad taste, I actually think she may have a point there.
Whilst Trump and Hanson are clearly two different people, there is, I believe, substantial overlap in the policies they represent and the type of people who would vote for them. Moreover, I would even suggest that Britain's UKIP and France's National Front may belong in the same basket. The theme is the same: what's on offer is a mixture of nationalism, anti-multiculturalism, and old fashioned protectionist policies. These policies may be rejected by both urban intellectuals and most young people in general, but there's clearly a market for this type of thinking, be it in the US, Europe or Australia.
As a liberal and committed multiculturalist, I do find it alarming. However, I believe we must go back to basics and understand and seriously deal with this phenomenon. In Australia, there have already been opinion pieces written suggesting that the return of Pauline Hanson may be related to real unfairness and structural disadvantage parts of the population are experiencing due to changed economic conditions since the 1980s. If the US Democrats are to win against Trump, I suggest they better examine their economic policies in this light. Whilst I am a supporter of free markets and free trade, you can't expect any type of economic liberalism to be sustainable if it hurts people's actual liberties, by making their livelihood difficult.
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