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Barack Obama warns of rise of 'crude nationalism'
[BBC] Barack Obama has warned of a "rise in a crude sort of nationalism" following the Brexit and US presidential votes. Mr Obama was speaking after talks with Greek PM Alexis Tsipras in the capital, Athens, as part of a final tour that also takes in Germany and Peru. Speaking in Greece on his final foreign trip, he said: "We have to guard against... tribalism built around an 'us' or a 'them'." He said the US was painfully aware of the danger of divisions "along lines of race or religion or ethnicity". He also put the victory of Donald Trump down to "the view of the American people to just shake things up". He said again that he had been surprised by Mr Trump's victory. Mr Obama said part of the result was down to "natural desires for change if you've had an incumbent who's been there for eight years". "At times of significant stress, people are going to be looking for something and they may opt for change even if they are not entirely confident what that change will bring." He added: "The lesson I draw is that we have to deal with issues like inequality, economic dislocation, people's fears that their children will not do as well as they have." Mr Obama said the UK's vote to leave the EU and the US vote showed that people generally were now "less certain of their national identities and place in the world" and that had produced populist movements both on the left and the right. He said a suspicion of globalisation and elites, wrapped up in issues of religious or ethnic or cultural identity was "a volatile mix". He said: "Now we need to satisfy the people who are fearful, angry or concerned and that's going to be a pretty big test." Mr Obama insisted his vision - where "the future will be decided by what we have in common, rather than what leads us into conflict" - was the right one. He also said he was responsible for facilitating a good transition, presenting to Mr Trump his best ideas about how to move the country forward. Mr Obama will be using the European leg of his trip to try to reassure leaders about future US commitment to its international alliances. Posted by: Pappy 2016-11-16 |
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