Re: [PEN-L] Populism?

[Doug Henwood]

Here's a perfect little example of right-wing populism, which mixes  
anti-elite feelings with xenophobia. It's from a report on the French  
elections in today's New York Times:

Mr. Sarkozy is the son of a Hungarian immigrant father and a French  
mother whose father was a Greek Jew who converted to Catholicism.  
Mr. Le Pen has accused Mr. Sarkozy of not being worthy of becoming  
president because he is a product of privilege and not French enough.



“Mr. Sarkozy, the world does not revolve around your little  
person,” Mr. Le Pen said at a rally on Sunday. “Long before your  
parents came from Hungary or Greece, there was at the heart of the  
French people a national current that cared more about the  
interests of the country than about its ruling class.”