After Soviet tanks crushed the Prague Spring in 1968, the attempt by Czechoslovakian prime minister Alexander Dubcek to introduce a more “liberal” type of communism, the socialist world was deeply split.
Some of the hard-line communists who remained steadfast with Moscow dusted off an old slogan, the origins of which are traceable to the French Revolution: “no enemies on the Left.”
A right-wing demagogue Trump may be. The most scornful and effective scourge of the condescending and censorious liberal elite, he surely is.Credit: AP
In the teleology of the Left, notwithstanding differences about ideology and tactics, ultimately all socialists were on was the same side in the greater struggle.
In recent years, we have seen a strikingly similar phenomenon emerge among elements of the Right. Its most obvious current manifestation appears in attitudes to Donald Trump.
With Trump now the presumptive Republican nominee, comfortably ahead of Joe Biden in almost all the battleground states, many on the Right are anticipating a second Trump presidency with unabated glee.
Trump has long had a following among elements of the Right in Australia, some of whose high-profile identities, such as Gina Rinehart, attended the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference in the US state of Maryland last month.
Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart attended CPAC, the gathering of American conservatives, last month.Credit: Michael Quelch
In years gone by, CPAC was a gathering of orthodox conservatives; it has now become a jamboree of MAGA Republicans. As the presidential election nears, we will see more Australian conservatives jumping on the Trump bandwagon. Elsewhere, this has begun to happen: recently Boris Johnson endorsed him.
Politics is binary. Ultimately, one has to pick a side. For many, especially political activists, it is also tribal. For people on the conservative side of politics, even those with deep misgivings about Trump, the instinct is to stick with the tribe.
The alternative is awful, but not even conservatives should back Trump
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10.03.2024
After Soviet tanks crushed the Prague Spring in 1968, the attempt by Czechoslovakian prime minister Alexander Dubcek to introduce a more “liberal” type of communism, the socialist world was deeply split.
Some of the hard-line communists who remained steadfast with Moscow dusted off an old slogan, the origins of which are traceable to the French Revolution: “no enemies on the Left.”
A right-wing demagogue Trump may be. The most scornful and effective scourge of the condescending and censorious........
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