Opinion Article *:
With the spread of the coronavirus pandemic about a year ago, several countries around the world have shown that they are not properly prepared to deal with it. In Europe, some heads of state have been trying to convince citizens that their countries will remain intact and that the virus will not be globalized. To support their position that the pandemic would remain limited as believed in Asia, they used the well-known technique of lying, misinformation and populism.
The term populism has been violated today since, as G. Babiniotis explains, populism is the idea according to which the desires and beliefs of the popular masses are a valid guide to political action. In the case of the pandemic, however, the term populism was used by a portion of leaders with the notorious side being the false, fabricated popular element that mimics the behavior of the people in order to secure their favor.
This popular tactic of populist leaders is mainly aimed at manipulating the people by creating a climate of political polarization. In this case, populism as an ideology of the people was misinterpreted and came into conflict with the democratic activity of ordinary citizens.
Populist ideology, in the right sense, should not restrict the freedom, democracy and human rights of citizens, but on the contrary should aim at claiming and satisfying popular feelings and expectations as G. Babiniotis writes.
Many times populist leaders resort to rivalry with others and to the terms "we" and "they" which, as the Italian professor Nadia Urbinati wrote, refers to the distinction between the few and the many.
On 9 May 1950, Robert Schuman laid the foundations of the European Coal and Steel Community, proclaiming the creation of a genuine solidarity between the Member States. This weighty declaration does not seem to be revered today by many European leaders, who may be committed to implementing the Green Pact to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, but refuse to get rid of carbon and its use. fossil fuels.
The EU It is also proud that since 1950 there has been no war in Europe between member states, but wars in various parts of the world are waged using European weapons. The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights speaks of guaranteeing human rights, prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, but in many EU countries. Discrimination between women and men, social strata and attacks on refugees / immigrants are a daily occurrence.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), vulnerable groups are fleeing their countries to secure a better future in a foreign country, experiencing conflict, torture, psychological and physical violence, humiliation, living in misery and vulnerability in the country. coronavirus pandemic. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, Chad, Niger, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Syria, Somalia, Myanmar and elsewhere, people are suffering, humiliated, displaced and exposed to the pandemic.
All these weak people are the target of the ubiquitous populists, who use their human pain and difficulty to have easy access to simple human living conditions, in order to maintain their political positions.
The EU will spend around € 3,5 trillion on tackling the humanitarian crisis together with the complementary European Recovery Fund to protect citizens' health and boost the recovery of the European economy. May these funds stay away from populist confrontations that divide the citizens into "They" and "We".
* Andros G. Karagiannis
Mayor of Deryneia