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DENMARK-US-POLITICS
Obama warns against ‘racial’, ‘nationalistic’ politics
KOLDING, Denmark, Sept 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Former US president Barack
Obama warned Friday against rising nationalism as he painted a grim picture
of American and global politics on a visit to Denmark.
“I’m concerned enough about the international and American trends that I
thought it was important to offer my views,” he told entrepreneurs and
students in the Danish central city of Kolding.
“When you start seeing our politics driven completely free of facts, when
you start seeing a debate that is driven solely on racial or nationalistic
impulses, when you start seeing a rejection of science and expertise and
logic in politics… we are beyond the sort of politics that will continue
our best traditions,” he added.
Relatively discreet since leaving the White House on January 20, 2017, the
44th President of the United States carefully avoided any direct reference to
his successor Donald Trump.
“Maybe we got more jolt and more change than we expected in the US,” Obama
said, drawing laughter from the crowd.
He expressed concern over a lack of citizen engagement in public life and
underlined the importance in the United States, Europe, and in other
countries “to affirm the ideals of our constitution.”
Referring to the right-wing populist Law and Justice Party (PiS)’s arrival
in power in Poland and the fiercely anti-immigration government in Hungary,
Obama said: “there is a shift that has implications for all of Europe.”
“When a population is passive and ill-informed and not paying attention,
that’s when there is the greatest danger.”
BSS/AFP/RY/1840 hrs