DOCSLIB.ORG

The Rise of the Technopopulists the Politics of the People and a New Age of Emptiness by Chris Bickerton

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Rise of the Technopopulists the Politics of the People and a New Age of Emptiness by Chris Bickerton THE NS ESSAY The rise of the technopopulists The politics of the people and a new age of emptiness By Chris Bickerton few days before it was exception of Johnson’s chief aide, Domi- technocracy as opposites, not as comple- announced there would be a nic Cummings, Downing Street has come ments. There are good reasons to believe nationwide UK lockdown from down hard on anyone breaching Covid-19 in this opposition. The conflict between late March, Sky News politi- restrictions. Johnson’s determination to technocracy and democracy takes us back cal editor Beth Rigby remarked follow the advice of his scientists has creat- to Plato, who argued that we should think Aon an unexpected shift in the Prime Minis- ed an opportunity for the Chancellor, Rishi of the polis or ideal city in the same way as ter’s behaviour. Struck by the importance Sunak, to present himself as less risk-averse we think of the individual household, the Boris Johnson was attaching to scientific and more attuned to the dangers that the oikos. Running a household requires skills, advice, Rigby mused that a populist poli- pandemic poses for Britain’s economy. techne, and we expect those with the skills tician seemed to be taking a non-populist Experienced observers of British poli- to be in charge. Similarly, we should put the approach to the crisis. tics are right to be confused. After becom- “philosopher kings” in charge of running The embrace of science has persisted ing Prime Minister in July last year, John- the polis. throughout the pandemic. As well as son reaffirmed his status as the country’s Technocracy is therefore skill (techne) justifying government decisions in the leading populist. He attached “the people” plus power (kratos). The industrial age language of scientific advice, the country’s as a prefix to almost every dimension of recast the meaning of technocracy in a way chief medical officers and scientific advisers his premiership. After pitting “the people that tied it more closely to the liberating po- – from Chris Whitty and Jenny Harries to against parliament” in his general election tential of modern technology. In the 18th the ill-fated epidemiologist Neil Ferguson – campaign, he created “a people’s govern- century, the French social theorist Henri de have been leading actors in the British ment”. Having packed the House of Com- Saint-Simon first proposed power be taken coronavirus drama. mons with his own MPs, Johnson called it away from politicians and given to engi- From the outset, arguments about rival “the people’s parliament”. The March 2020 neers. This idea exists today among tech scientific models dominated political dis- Budget was “the people’s Budget”. enthusiasts in Silicon Valley. Empowering cussion. The “herd immunity” approach This confusion stems from our expecta- experts seems to imply the demobilisation was popular early on but lost out to the tion that promises to do what “the people” of “the people”. suppression strategy promoted by Fergu- want will clash with appeals to expertise The opposition between populism and son at Imperial College London. With the and competence. We think of populism and technocracy also makes sense because t 32 | NEW STATESMAN | 23-29 OCTOBER 2020 JONATHAN MCHUGH 23-29 OCTOBER 2020 | NEW STATESMAN | 33 t it confirms those who put their faith in technocratic forms of decision-making. Johnson’s critics often remark rather smug- ly that a former Have I Got News For You panellist was never going to be able to han- dle a global pandemic. The failures of Don- ald Trump, Johnson and Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro in tackling Covid-19 have led to a crescendo of voices decrying the policy failures of populists. By contrast, the German Chancellor An- gela Merkel – who has a doctorate in quan- tum chemistry – is celebrated for her seri- ousness of purpose. Placing populism and technocracy in opposition like this is a way of attacking those voters who elected the populists in the first place. We cannot understand the contemporary political moment if we stick to this opposi- tion between populism and technocracy. Political competition in advanced demo- cratic states today is increasingly ordered around appeals to both “the people” and to competence and expertise. Far from clash- Flanked by experts: Anthony Fauci, Mike Pence and Donald Trump face the press, February 2020 ing with one another, these appeals are combined in multiple and complex ways. The concept of technopopulism helps populist against a seasoned and highly com- We cannot say that one party or leader is to unravel the mystery of Dominic Cum- petent politician. And yet, Trump’s political populist while another is more technocratic. mings’s centrality to the Johnson govern- persona made much of his practical ability Rather, political strategies involve various ment and the manner in which he became to do deals and “get the job done”, in con- combinations of populism and technocracy. the object of public opprobrium in May this trast to his Democratic predecessor. In short, we live in a technopopulist age. year, after revelations about his trips to the Trump has, perhaps, most in common The crucial difference with the tradi- north-east during lockdown. Cummings with Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi. Derided by tional understanding of technocracy is that ruminates obsessively about the potential outside observers, Berlusconi successfully technopopulism does not describe a shift of cutting-edge science and technology cultivated a personal and direct relationship of decision-making power from political to improve government performance; he with Italians via television and by politicis- entities to independent bodies. This sort of writes rambling blog posts on the 17th- ing his entrepreneurial success. At the core depoliticisation still exists, of course, but century German polymath Leibniz and the of Italian politics under Berlusconi, as with technopopulism is something different. It Apollo space programme; he is waging a Trump, has been this amalgamation of a per- is not an alternative to democracy; it is the war against the civil service. sonal bond with citizens and a managerial form that democratic politics takes today. At the same time, Cummings is Britain’s approach to politics. While much has been We have been accustomed to viewing po- arch-populist agitator. In 2004, he was in- written about the dangers of this overlap- litical competition as a struggle between strumental in the campaign against the ping of money with politics, we should pay left and right. We should think about it in- Labour government’s proposal for a North as much attention to the exact meanings of stead as competition between rival ways of East Assembly. His winning slogans – “vote expertise and popular representation con- synthesising appeals to “the people” and no to more politicians” and “politicians tained in Berlusconism or Trumpism. appeals to expertise. talk, we pay” – capitalised on public distrust Since the coronavirus pandemic began, of the political class and were precursors Trump’s strategy has not been to dismiss all he Conservatives’ election-win- to the Leave campaign in 2016. In the early expert opinion out of hand. Instead, he has ning slogan of 2019 – “Get Brexit autumn of 2019, Cummings was a key fig- deployed “his” experts. He has also made Done” – was powerfully tech- ure in pushing the government towards its much of his ability to read data and provide nopopulist. It was a promise to do showdown with parliament, arguing that his own interpretations. Political debate in “what the people want”, namely, the Commons and the Lords had become the United States has been along the lines Tleave the European Union – but it was also obstacles to the exercise of popular sover- of “my expert versus yours”, not a simple a promise to do it promptly and efficiently. eignty. Cummings thus in many ways em- clash between populism and technocracy. The pledge to act entailed a claim about bodies this new combination of populism Variations in technopopulism therefore competence and expertise, which fed off and technocracy. come from different ways of mobilising a growing disillusionment with the stale- “the people” and by focusing on different mate in the House of Commons. The La- echnopopulism is not just a British understandings of techne. Elected in 2017, bour Party’s response to this slogan – “Get story. In the United States, Don- French president Emmanuel Macron’s at- Brexit Right” – is itself firmly rooted in the ald Trump’s coruscating attacks tack on the political class and his unabash- technopopulist register. Keir Starmer pits on expert opinion belie a more nu- edly messianic political style had all the his promise of precision against Johnson’s anced set of developments. When hallmarks of the populist politician. In a promise of swiftness, but both entail claims The ran against Hillary Clinton in 2016, it striking instance of the populist’s personal- to a form of political competence. was common to view the contest as that of a ised approach to exercising power, Macron ALEX / GETTY WONG IMAGES 34 | NEW STATESMAN | 23-29 OCTOBER 2020 even gave his political movement the same Casaleggio, was that the internet and digital party of the left and of the right. As Hans initials as himself: En Marche!. connectivity were a means of harnessing the Fallada put it in Alone in Berlin (1947), his But Macron was also a product of France’s “collective intelligence” of humanity. Direct celebrated novel about resistance to Nazi statist and elitist technocratic system. He democracy through the web was the route to rule in wartime Berlin: “The party was used the language of competence to attack better policymaking. As Casaleggio once put everything, and the people nothing.” his opponents.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Urgent SOS from Longcovid Sufferers
    Recognition · Research · Rehab www.longcovidsos.org [email protected] @LongCovidSOS 07 July 2020 Urgent SOS from LongCovid sufferers To: Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, Prime Minister Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Prof Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, UK Government Chief Medical Adviser Dr Patrick Vallance, UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser Mr Simon Stevens, Chief Executive Officer NHS England John Connaghan CBE, Chief Executive NHS Scotland Mr Andrew Goodall, Chief Executive NHS Wales Mrs Valerie Watts, Chief Executive of The Health and Social Care Board for Northern Ireland Mr Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive Public Health England We are writing on behalf of thousands of forgotten victims of Covid-19 who have been sick since the early days of the outbreak. They are struggling to get help from the medical community for their continuing disease and feel abandoned by the government. The Covid-19 pandemic is estimated by the ONS to have infected around 7% of the UK population [1], [2] or approximately 4.6 million people; other studies suggest that the proportion infected could be as high as 25% [3]. In the early stages of the UK epidemic, government briefings and press reports were focussed on those who had severe symptoms and were at risk of being admitted to intensive care. People who had what were described as ‘mild’ symptoms were advised to stay in place and only present to hospital if their condition became critical. As a result, a significant number of sufferers battled with their symptoms at home, relying on advice from 111 which was not always helpful.
    [Show full text]
  • UK Set to Extend Coronavirus Lockdown 16 April 2020
    UK set to extend coronavirus lockdown 16 April 2020 rules not to go out except for exercise and to buy essential items. "I don't want to put all of that good effort to waste," said Hancock, who himself has also had coronavirus but recovered quickly. "Because if we just released all the measures then this virus would run rampant once again, and we can't let that happen." He did not say how long the lockdown would continue, but the law states that the measures must be reviewed every 21 days. Credit: CC0 Public Domain England's chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, said Wednesday that the outbreak was peaking but warned the numbers of deaths would keep rising. The British government was on Thursday expected Health ministry figures show 12,868 people in to extend a nationwide lockdown for another three hospital in Britain have so far died, making it one of weeks, amid signs the coronavirus outbreak is the worst affected countries in the global outbreak. peaking but also warnings of more deaths to come. Testing concerns Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is standing The main opposition Labour party supports in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he extending the lockdown, but has called for the recuperates after spending a week in hospital with government to set out its exit strategy—a demand COVID-19, met with ministers and officials to ministers say is premature. finalise the plans. There are particular concerns about the slow An announcement is due later but the government expansion of testing for coronavirus, something has already said that, with the death toll many people believe is crucial to easing the approaching 13,000 and still rising, now is not the confinement measures.
    [Show full text]
  • The Reaction to the SARS-Cov-2 Virus Is the Most Reckless and Grossly Irresponsible 'Public Health' Response in History
    Elizabeth Hart <[email protected]> The reaction to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is the most reckless and grossly irresponsible 'public health' response in history Elizabeth Hart <[email protected]> Tue, Apr 6, 2021 at 9:42 PM Bcc: Elizabeth Hart <[email protected]> Please see below my email to Sir Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty, UK Scientific and Medical Advisers, challenging them about the grossly disproportionate and ill-targeted response to SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19. This really is the most dire 'public health' response in history, and the bigger picture is very sinister. Elizabeth Hart Independent person investigating the over-use of vaccine products and conflicts of interest in vaccination policy ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Elizabeth Hart <[email protected]> Date: Tue, Apr 6, 2021 at 3:34 PM Subject: The reaction to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is the most reckless and grossly irresponsible 'public health' response in history To: Patrick Vallance, Chris Whitty Cc: Fiona Godlee, Sharon Davies, Peter Doshi, Kamran Abbasi, Theodora Bloom, Allyson Pollock, John Ioannidis, Simon Wain-Hobson, Richard Ebright, Marc Lipsitch, Michael Osterholm, Tom Inglesby, Carl Heneghan, Michael Levitt, Martin Kulldorff, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Sucharit Bhakdi, Gus Dalgleish, Karol Sikora, Anders Tegnell, Johan Giesecke, Ian Frazer, Peter Doherty, Peter Collignon, Roy Anderson, Peter Openshaw, Adrian Smith, David Cannadine, Venki Ramakrishnan, Andrew Goddard, Chris Conlon, Dan Sumners, John Shine, Robert Clancy, Sunetra Gupta, Andrew Pollard, Heidi Larson, Graham Medley, Melinda Mills, John Bell, David Kennedy, Andrew Read, Neil Ferguson For the attention of: Sir Patrick Vallance, UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Chris Whitty, UK Chief Medical Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Whitty The reaction to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is the most reckless and grossly irresponsible 'public health' response in history.
    [Show full text]
  • REVIEW ESSAY to Silvio Berlusconi, with Irony
    RMIS100349 (NT) Journal of Modern Italian Studies 9(4) 2004: 480 – 486 REVIEW ESSAY To Silvio Berlusconi, with irony: Giuseppe Rosato narrates Italy’s Normal Anomalies in the era of the Cavaliere Dagmar Reichardt University of Bremen Giuseppe Rosato (2003) Normali anomalie, Romanzo. Biblioteca di Ciminiera. Collana di narrativa diretta da Giovanni Cara (Civitanova Marche, Macerata: Gruppo Editore Domina), pp. 1 – 60, e9.00. The Berlusconi phenomenon, from a literary point of view, is a collection of Normal Anomalies. With this oxymoron the Abruzzese author Giuseppe Rosato synthesizes in his new novel’s title the double meanings of the story he tells us. After an avalanche of wildly varied journalistic documentation, political essays in scientific reviews and a series of popular books on the subject,1 Rosato offers us a further occasion for amusement in a literary fantasy whose style is eloquent, meaningful, and dynamic. As in other literary texts with clear allusions to Berlusconism,2 the plot, of which we will present a brief synopsis before analyzing the text in greater depth, makes use of stinging and significant critical equipment. A ‘usurer’ (p. 9), the accountant Gelindo Tazi, employee of a trucking firm, wakes up one morning – almost as Gregor Samsa does in Kafka’s famous ‘Metamorphosis’ – not in the form of a cockroach but with a ‘big lump’ (p. 10) under his chin. The swelling is alarming, and the ‘hard mass’ (p. 9) on his neck keeps growing. He summons the doctor who can suggest no remedy, but who tells him that strangely enough, that very morning, he has seen a similar case.
    [Show full text]
  • The Post-Modern Crisis of Humanities
    1 THE POST-MODERN CRISIS OF HUMANITIES AND GOALS OF THEIR RECOVERY Democritus Association London - Berlin – Prague 2005 2 Published as a methodical material by Democritus Association for inner purposes of academic institutions. The book edition of this methodical material is protected by copyright, but its text may be copied and reproduced for inner needs of academic institutions. © Democritus Association 2005 ISBN 80-86580-11-3 3 C O N T E N T S A List of Tables .................................................................................................4 THESES TO THE POSTMODERN CRISIS OF HUMANITIES.....................5 I The Post-Modern Situation of Humanities......................................................5 II The Dysfunctional State of the System of Education in Humanities .............8 III The Fundamentalist Destruction of Modern Humanities...........................11 IV Academic Clientelism, Lawlessness, Corruption and Criminality .............14 CURRENT TRENDS IN POSTMODERN HUMANITIES ...........................16 1 The Post-Modern Situation of Sciences........................................................16 2 Remedial Steps in Cultural Politics .............................................................20 THE HISTORICAL PERIODICITY OF IRRATIONALIST REVIVALS.....26 1 The Periodicity of Crises of Science in Past History ....................................26 2 Science vs. ‘Black Science’ in History........................................................30 THE LAYOUT OF MODERN SCIENCES ....................................................60
    [Show full text]
  • A Comparative Constitutional Analysis Between Italy and Hungary
    Department of Political Science Master’s Degree in International Relations – European Studies Chair in Comparative Public Law POPULISM IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE EUROPEAN UNION: A COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS BETWEEN ITALY AND HUNGARY SUPERVISOR CANDIDATE Professor Cristina Fasone Claudia Mattei 635892 CO-SUPERVISOR Professor Giovanni Orsina Academic Year 2018/2019 1 Table of contents Introduction 6 1 CHAPTER – POPULISM 9 1.1 What is populism? A definition for a highly contested phenomenon 10 1.2 Understanding populism 14 1.2.1 Who are the people? 14 1.2.2 Who are the elites? 18 1.2.3 The real meaning of the volonté générale 19 1.2.4 The people and the general will: populism vs. democracy 20 1.3 Historical birth of populism 24 1.3.1 The American People’s Party 24 1.3.2 The Russian narodnichestvo 26 1.4 Marriage between populism and ‘host’ ideologies: different families 29 1.4.1 Right-wing populism 30 1.4.2 Left-wing populism 31 1.4.3 Populist constitutionalism 33 1.5 Why does populism develop? 36 1.5.1 The causes behind the populist rise 37 1.5.2 The cause of the cause: the auto-destruction of politics as origin of populism 39 1.5.3 Technocracy replaces politics: the case of the European Union 41 1.6 Populism in the world 44 2 CHAPTER – POPULISM IN EUROPE 48 2.1 Genesis of populism in Europe: Boulangism 48 2.2 Populism in Western Europe 51 2.2.1 Post-WW2 populist experiences in Western Europe 51 2.2.2 The rise of modern populism in Western Europe 53 2 2.3 Populism in Eastern Europe 58 2.3.1 Interwar populism in Eastern Europe 58 2.3.2
    [Show full text]
  • COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis 5Th Jun 2020
    COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis 5th Jun 2020 News Highlights Encouraging signs as Spain reports zero deaths for second day running Spain, one of the countries worst affected by the coronavirus with 27,127 deaths, reported zero deaths for the second day in a row, amidst signs that the country has seen off the worst. At the peak of the pandemic, Spain saw hundreds of deaths every day from the virus. UK lockdown brings cleaner air and relief for asthma sufferers Millions of people suffering from respiratory conditions like asthma may have benefited from the cleaner air and clearer skies with the halting of industry and reduction of traffic due to the UK lockdown. According to the British Lung Foundation, a survey of 14,000 people with lung conditions revealed that one-in-four asthmatics felt relief in their symptoms with children seeming to benefit the most. AstraZeneca inks deal with partners to produce and distribute vaccine The drug company AstraZeneca stated it intends to partner with CEPI and Gavi to manufacture and distribute 300 million doses of an experimental Covid-19 vaccine created by Oxford University, if the vaccine is shown to be safe and effective. AstraZeneca also reached a licensing agreement with the Serum Institute of India, which has committed to providing 400 million vaccine doses to low and middle income countries by 2020 end. Exemptions for film crew sparks furore in New Zealand Director James Cameron and 55 crew members of the film 'Avatar 2' flew into New Zealand under a recently announced exemption based on economic value, while thousands who already have temporary visas are unable to enter.
    [Show full text]
  • How and Why Patients Made Long Covid
    Social Science & Medicine 268 (2021) 113426 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Social Science & Medicine journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/socscimed Short communication How and why patients made Long Covid Felicity Callard a,*, Elisa Perego b a University of Glasgow School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom b University College London Institute of Archaeology, UCL, United Kingdom ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Patients collectively made Long Covid – and cognate term ‘Long-haul Covid’ – in the first months of the Chronic illness pandemic. Patients, many with initially ‘mild’ illness, used various kinds of evidence and advocacy to demon­ Citizen science strate a longer, more complex course of illness than laid out in initial reports from Wuhan. Long Covid has a COVID-19 strong claim to be the first illness created through patients finding one another on Twitter: it moved from pa­ Long Covid tients, through various media, to formal clinical and policy channels in just a few months. This initial mapping of Long-hauler – – Patient activism Long Covid by two patients with this illness focuses on actors in the UK and USA and demonstrates how Patient groups patients marshalled epistemic authority. Patient knowledge needs to be incorporated into how COVID-19 is SARS-CoV-2 conceptualised, researched, and treated. Credit author statement developed different ways to conceptualize distress and recovery (Sweeney et al 2009); HIV/AIDS activists have changed how biomedical Felicity Callard, Elisa Perego: Conceptualization, Investigation, scientific research is conducted and how drugs are accessed (Robins, Writing - original draft preparation, Writing – Reviewing and editing 2004); those with long-term/chronic conditions have created patient knowledge and ways of living (Pols, 2013; Kingod, 2018); political or­ 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Second SAGE Meeting on Wuhan Coronavirus, 28 January 2020 Held in 10 Victoria St, London SW1H 0NN
    Addendum to the second SAGE meeting on Covid-19, 28 January 2020 Held in 10 Victoria St, London, SW1H 0NN This addendum clarifies the roles of the SAGE attendees listed in the minute. There are three categories of attendee. Scientific experts provide evidence and advice as part of the SAGE process. HMG attendees listen to this discussion, to help inform policy work, and are able to provide the scientific experts with context on the work of government where appropriate. The secretariat attends in an organisational capacity. The list of attendees is split into these groups below. Attendees: Scientific experts: Patrick Vallance (GCSA), Chris Whitty (CMO), Charlotte Watts (CSA DfID), Jonathan Van Tam (dCMO), John Aston (CSA HO), James Rubin (King’s College), Neil Ferguson (Imperial), Peter Horby (Oxford), Guy Poppy (CSA FSA), Carole Mundell (CSA FCO), Christine Middlemiss (CVO DEFRA), Jim McMenamin (Health Protection Scotland), Jeremy Farrar (Wellcome), David Lalloo (LSHTM), Maria Zambon (PHE), Andrew Rambaut (Edinburgh), Wendy Barclay (Imperial). Observers and Government Officials: Tasha Grant (CCS), Stuart Wainwright (GoS), Samantha Harris (GoS). Secretariat: [redacted] Names of junior officials and the secretariat are redacted. Participants who were Observers and Government Officials were not consistently recorded therefore this may not be the complete list. Second SAGE meeting on Wuhan Coronavirus, 28 January 2020 Held in 10 Victoria St, London SW1H 0NN Actions from previous meeting 1. DHSC to send PHE isolation plan to behavioural scientists (see further action below). 2. Others in train. Situation update 3. SAGE is responsible for coordinating science advice across HMG, including from NERVTAG. 4. SAGE agreed that SPI-M (Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling) is now a formal sub-group of SAGE for the duration of this outbreak.
    [Show full text]
  • A Long-Term Plan for Long Covid | Institute for Global Change
    A Long-Term Plan for Long Covid BRIANNA MILLER DANIEL SLEAT Contents Foreword 3 Overview 4 Our Original Recommendations 7 Further Recommendations 15 Conclusion 17 Published at https://institute.global/policy/long-term-plan-long- covid on March 12 2021 Foreword It is now clear that over 400,000 people in the UK suffer from the debilitating effects of ongL Covid or, as it is now called officially, Post-Covid-19 Syndrome, and a proportion of these will have symptoms FOREW persisting for some years. We know more about the problem than we did back in October when we FOREW launched the first eport.r We now have a working definition, but many aspects of its cause and ORD ORD mechanisms remain unclear. Unfortunately, although it is now well recognised, we have not progressed much in the treatment of the condition. The risk factors for the condition are now clearer and, although it can affect anyone of any age, we know that long-duration symptoms are more common with increasing age and in females. Studies from the ZOE Covid Symptom Study app show that having more than five different symptoms in the first week of the illness is a predictor of much increased risk. We urgently need to focus on treatment and trials of intervention, especially at three months to see if the immune cycle that prolongs symptoms can be broken. The government has invested some targeted funds for Long Covid, but these funds don’t match the scale of the problem. There are now some specialist clinical facilities around the country, but these are still patchy and too few in number and, importantly, patients and GPs lack a clear pathway to seek information and help via dedicated websites or apps.
    [Show full text]
  • Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer, on Covid-19
    FEATURE BMJ: first published as 10.1136/bmj.m4235 on 4 November 2020. Downloaded from The BMJ Q&A Cite this as: BMJ 2020;371:m4235 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m4235 Published: 04 November 2020 The BMJ interview: Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, on covid-19 Never has the role of chief medical officer (CMO) been under such scrutiny. In a rare interview, England’s CMO speaks to The BMJ’s editor in chief, Fiona Godlee, about the pandemic and what it’s like to be a physician in Whitehall Fiona Godlee, Mun-Keat Looi This interview was conducted on 28 October and has There are four ways this virus is going to kill people been edited for length and clarity and cause long term morbidity, as well as mortality. First, there’s the direct effects of covid. And as we How are you, Chris? know, there are significant morbidity effects as well I’m fine. To be honest, I’m much more concerned as mortality effects. about everybody who’s working on the front line Second is where we have an over-running of the because that’s the really hard work. And as we look emergency services such that all emergency care forward to what’s going to be an extremely difficult stops. We fortunately avoided that in the first wave, winter for the NHS—one that I suspect, unfortunately, but it’s not a given if we don’t take strong action. will be unlike any we’ve seen in recent memory—I’m really concerned about the welfare and the morale Third, some people need urgent but not emergency of all the medical professionals who are working on care—elective care—which will be delayed further this, because this is going to be a long and difficult because the health service is under considerable slog.
    [Show full text]
  • Populism in Italy
    CICERO FOUNDATION GREAT DEBATE PAPER No. 19/05 December 2019 POPULISM IN ITALY EXPLORING THE IDEOLOGICAL ROOTS OF LEGA AND THE FIVE STAR MOVEMENT DR. LUCA MANUCCI University of Lisbon Institute of Social Sciences Cicero Foundation Great Debate Paper No. 19/05 © Luca Manucci, 2019. All rights reserved The Cicero Foundation is an independent pro-Atlantic and pro-EU think tank, founded in 1992 in Maastricht at the signing of the Maastricht Treaty. www.cicerofoundation.org The views expressed in Cicero Foundation Great Debate Papers do not necessarily express the opinion of the Cicero Foundation, but they are considered interesting and thought-provoking enough to be published. Permission to make digital or hard copies of any information contained in these web publications is granted for personal use, without fee and without formal request. Full citation and copyright notice must appear on the first page. Copies may not be made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage. 2 Populism in Italy Exploring the Ideological Roots of Lega and the Five Star Movement Luca Manucci The League (Lega) and Five Star Movement (M5S) are quite different from an ideological point of view, but something ties them together: their populist vision of society. The League is now a classic far right party fighting immigration, the ‘cultural hegemony’ of the Left, and the economic ‘dictatorship’ of the European institutions, while claiming to defend the Christian roots of Europe. M5S is a very different type of party, since it lacks a clear ideology and scholars struggle to position it on a classic left-right divide.
    [Show full text]