Recap America first, Europe second?

Two weeks before the Dutch general elections, the interview + discussion with Felix Klos at Impulse shed a light on our current understanding of the rise of populism in Europe and in the US. It was nice that Felix shared his broad knowledge and experiences and furthermore, gave us an insight in the work and the challenges of an election campaigner.

The election of Donald Trump has made us ask ourselves how and why could this happen. Therefore, the concept of an information bubble and the role of media was addressed with a special emphasis in this event.  Felix reminded us that we should not remain in our comfort zone by dealing only with opinions we agree with, but to work on understanding of other points of views. This may include reading newspaper which we don’t really like or agree with. We also should not underestimate the biasness of our own opinions neither.

Furthermore, the electoral system in the US also has contributed to the victory of Donald Trump. The electoral system and campaigning are quite different here in the Netherlands.

Also, the elections not only in the Netherlands, but also in France and Germany are characterized by greater respect and objectiveness than in US. I hope the knowledge about the power and the abuse of (social) media such as social bots will help to fight against populism and will make us more critical towards own perceptions.