THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-December 9, 2016- Topic 2
As 2016 draws to a close after Brexit
in the U.K. and the election of Donald Trump in the U.S., it is tempting to label it the Year of Resurgent
Nationalism. Yet in its dying gasp the global season of elections has produced
two surprise results, in Austria and Italy, which give pause. Last weekend Austria rejected far-right candidate Norbert
Hofer in its presidential election, instead placing confidence in Alexander Van
der Bellen, a former leader of the Green Party who has said he would be an
“open-minded, liberal-minded and above all a pro-European president.” In Italy
a more mixed result was delivered, with voters resoundingly defeating a
referendum driven by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to change Italy’s constitution
by reducing the numbers and power of the Senate. While some in Italy’s
political right have seized upon the result as a big victory for
anti-establishment forces, the vote defies the simplistic narrative of a
“populist revolt against globalisation and elites” that has been applied
elsewhere. It is evident that the focus of the vote was Mr. Renzi’s own record
in office and the relative merits of the constitutional reforms he was
proposing, which also explains why he resigned. The debates leading up to the
vote, similarly, hardly touched upon burning issues such as immigration writ
large in Britain or America. Instead they thrashed out questions on the
potential of the reforms to be anti-democratic and capable of altering in-built
constitutional checks and balances.
Despite the election outcomes in Europe being at odds with the broader
global surge in pro-majoritarian national politics, there is one common thread
that binds the two: a hatefully bitter polarisation of the electorate of each
country. In Italy, while the opposition to Mr. Renzi’s plans came from
mainstream political figures, including members of his Democratic Party, former
prime ministers and academics and judges, the far right Northern League and the
Five Star Movement left an indelible mark on the No campaign. These groups and
their anti-immigrant rhetoric have thus received a boost. In Austria the flip
side of Mr. Van der Bellen’s win was that Mr. Hofer’s Freedom Party managed to
pull in some 2.2 million votes despite standing stoutly against the Social
Democrats, the Popular Party and the Green Party, besides several among the
establishment media. The fact that French far-right leader Marine Le Pen
assured Mr. Hofer that he would win the next legislative election is a signal
of confidence in the power of the rising anti-establishment mood. As the divide
between “elites” and “the forgotten man and woman” widens, the need to rethink
liberal politics has become imperative.
Vocabulary
Resurgent: increasing or reviving after a period of little activity, popularity, or
occurrence.
Example: Resurgent nationalism
Gasp: a convulsive catching of breath.
Example: His breath was
coming in gasps
Synonyms: gulp, exclamation, cry, sharp
inhalation
Defies: openly resist or refuse to obey.
Example: A woman who defies
convention
Synonyms: disobey, go
against, flout, fly in the face of, disregard, ignore
Simplistic: treating complex issues and problems as if they were much simpler than they
really are.
Example: Simplistic solutions
Synonyms: facile, superficial, oversimple, oversimplified, shallow, jejune
Thrashed: beat (a person or animal) repeatedly and violently with a stick or whip.
Example: She thrashed him
across the head and shoulders
Synonyms: hit, beat, strike, batter, thump, hammer, pound, rain
blows on
Stoutly: (of a person) somewhat fat or of heavy build.
Example: Stout middle-aged
men
Synonyms: fat, plump, portly, rotund, dumpy, chunky, corpulent, stocky, burly
Imperative: of vital importance; crucial.
Example: Immediate action
was imperative
Synonyms: vitally
important, of vital
importance, all-important, vital, crucial