Recent elections in Europe have revealed a seismic shift in the political landscape and laid bare a growing discontent around the world.
In many nations, centrist or mainstream political parties have failed to deliver on the “people’s agenda”: affordable healthcare, adequately funded public education, as well as genuinely affordable housing, energy and nutritious food.
Instead, the priorities of these parties seem to revolve around military spending and mega-projects while social spending is constrained. Even the famed National Health Service in the UK is a pale shadow of its old self.
The ruling parties in many nations also pay lip service to the major environmental challenges of our time: climate change and global warming. Worse, they indulge in greenwashing and dubious schemes like carbon trading and carbon capture and storage.
The failure by mainstream parties to improve the lives of ordinary people has led to mounting public distrust of politics among many people.
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Given this trust deficit, many ordinary people sadly withdraw from participation in electoral politics. This has contributed to low voter turnouts, as we have even seen in recent by-elections in Malaysia.
Some people who are disillusioned have turned to nationalist, right-wing populist parties, even ones that lean toward fascism. These parties favour wealthy interests and lower taxes for the rich and couldn’t care less about climate change.
These parties are also unfriendly to immigrants who are often scapegoated for the economic problems of their host nations – even though foreign workers have contributed immensely to these economies.
Disillusioned voters might even vote for those pushing a conservative, racial or religious agenda. Think of Donald Trump in the US and Reform in the UK. These parties appeal to those who have lost hope that the mainstream parties could provide them with a better life in this world. Or they put the blame on immigrants.
Amid this gloom, we have also seen the encouraging emergence of green candidates, smaller parties and independent candidates who champion issues that matter to the people. They take a more independent perspective of foreign policy in an increasingly multi-polar world. They do not subscribe to neocolonial interests, whether in politics or the economy. The more socialist-oriented might take a more critical stand against neoliberal economics that concentrate wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer people.
These fledgling parties also want an end to the wars in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and the genocide taking place in Gaza and Myanmar. Still, they are in a minority. Hopefully, they will reach a critical mass in time.
For now, in many parts of the world, policies are formulated to benefit Big Capital and Big Business, propped up by establishment interests. Public opinion is influenced by PR firms, global media and Big Tech’s algorithms – all favouring powerful vested interests.
These days, we see the emergence of “stakeholder capitalism”. A few gigantic investment companies hold sizeable stakes in multiple companies around the world. These large global investment firms control trillions of dollars worth of assets. They may even have the ability to influence the politics and economies of a string of nations.
So we cannot leave matters of the world to the politicians and electoral politics. Politicians in power are frequently influenced by big business, the establishment, superpowers, multinational companies and global financial institutions.
In the process, party manifestos and the people’s agenda fall by the wayside.
Ordinary people have to step up and be counted. We have a role in making a difference in the world. We need to work for the people’s interest and the common good while protecting the ecological balance.
People of all faiths should work together to build a new world – a world of compassion, concern for the poor and care for the planet.
This new world would have values that are diametrically opposed to the values of worldly powers.
We need to empower the poor and free the people from the shackles of oppression. We need to care for the sick, the homeless and the infirm. Our world is interconnected, after all.
Corrupt, compromised and hypocritical political and religious leaders should be called out. Such leaders are sometimes in league with global interests intent on accumulating fabulous wealth.
In contrast, the ordinary people suffer from poverty, hunger, poor health and low wages. Essential services are increasingly privatised to benefit the capitalist class.
Let’s do our part to work for a more just and sustainable world, no matter where we are. Listen to the cry of the poor and the cry of the Earth. Read up and be aware of the critical issues of the day.
And then get involved in community and civil society groups. Or volunteer free services or at discounted rates to low-income communities. Make our voices heard when forests, hills and biodiversity are threatened.
We are not powerless! Let’s pay heed to those who are suffering among us and work to empower them while doing our utmost to protect the planet.
This is a revised version of an article first published in the Malaysian Catholic Herald.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
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- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
Malaysian politicians survive for themselves or for the country and people?