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Stage Set for Post-COVID Battle Among European Heads, Hands and Hearts

Jamie Dettmer

   Populist-ruled countries the United States, Brazil, Mexico, India and
   Britain are among the worst impacted, so far, in terms of coronavirus
   cases and deaths, prompting commentators and analysts to argue the
   pandemic could mark the beginning of the end for populism, whether of
   the political left or right.

   But in Europe, recent polling by the Politico Europe newspaper suggests
   liberal and establishment opponents would be premature in writing off
   populism. Support for populist parties has remained relatively stable
   since the pandemic struck the continent and there are signs that
   skepticism about the European Union, a key populist issue, is rising
   rather than ebbing.

   And in Europe, with the exception of Britain, populist governments in
   some countries, including Poland, Hungary and Austria, have been
   credited with doing a good job in curbing viral transmission and
   keeping deaths low, undermining establishment claims that populism has
   mismanaged the pandemic.

   A new book by British author and political commentator David Goodhart
   suggests post-pandemic populism is likely to remain a transfiguring
   political force for some time. In "Head Hand Heart: The Struggle for
   Dignity and Status in the 21st Century," Goodhart, an analyst at Policy
   Exchange, a London-based research organization, argues "status
   inequality" will continue to drive a political rebellion that has
   already led to Brexit and the upending or disruption of establishment
   parties from Italy to Germany.

   In a previous book, "The Road to Somewhere," published in 2017,
   Goodhart placed the roots of populism in a conflict over values,
   dividing voters into two groups. Those in the larger group feel they
   are far from somewhere. They are rooted in their communities, tend to
   be socially conservative and often didn't attend college. Those in the
   smaller but more powerful group feel they could come from anywhere.
   They tend to be more metropolitan, socially liberal and, more often
   than not, university graduates.

   In his latest book he expands on the theme, dividing voters between the
   highly educated, the Heads, manual workers, the Hands, and those who
   mainly care for others, the Hearts. He maintains populism is a backlash
   against the Heads, who have become too powerful. "In the language of
   political cliché," Goodhart writes, "the 'brightest and the best'
   today trump the 'decent and hardworking.' Qualities such as character,
   integrity, experience, common sense, courage and willingness to toil
   are by no means irrelevant, but they command relatively less respect."

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