This is an outstanding and reflective op ed from Rafael Behr, published in the Guardian. He reminds us that both the US and the UK were until recently forces to be feared. But with the G20 about to start, the vision of rolling revolution has been exposed as pure fantasy.
The tide of populism has been stopped and both the US and the UK are highlighted as beached whales.
American and British people are deeply disillusioned now, having been taken in by the false truths of populism by lying politicians – so distant from generations of political leaders who talked of public service. The evidence is clear. The socialists have failed – they’ve just becoming the new conservatives, trying to prop up the welfare state. Meanwhile, conservatives missed the opportunity to reform and prolonged agony of austerity. As for the populists, both left and right, they’re just modern ‘Pied Pipers’.
Sadly, we must await multiple judicial investigations in the US as to Trump’s links with Russia. But for Trump to be deposed with impeachment will require intervention from his cabinet or GOP and this is still some way off. The situation in the UK is different. The right of the Conservative Party still hold sway, keeping the ‘weak and wobbly’ woman as a figurehead prime minister, whilst they continue towards a deadly trajectory towards hard Brexit. But the Conservatives are scared of precipitating a Far Left government, with Jeremy Corbyn as leader, propped up by shadowy, radical left-wing forces, focused on revolution in the UK.
Perhaps the famous checks and balances of the US political system will provide a backstop for damage limitation. Meanwhile, the UK is looking like a highly leveraged option, with massive downside political and economic risk.
Thoughts?
Dr Alf's Blog 
Until May goes there is no possibility of any deal with the EU because their negotiators know that she is a lame duck.
Therefore ,once she is swiftly replaced with someone younger and more telegenic who is capable of negotiating and appealing to young people and who understands business then the quicker the country can start to create facts on the ground and prepare itself for life outside the EU.
People did know what they voted for at the time of the EU Referendum but those who voted for a cap on immigration and BREXIT in 90% of cases had not thought through the implications in terms of what would be required of them.
They had not considered whether jobs which they chose not to do or thought beneath them would be done by them,somehow “training” or “magic” would take care of the problem when in reality it will mean automation,using robots or indigenous British workers doing the work themselves.
They had not considered how public services are going to be paid for.
The left creates a mirage of major companies being forced to pay higher taxes and no sacrifice from workers whose lamentable productivity and laziness is a national disgrace.
The right creates a mirage of corporate titans who,once unleashed will be able to win export sales all over the world.
The reality is only a few fit that mould while the rest languish in boardrooms and golf courses doing very little and delivering even less.
As Dr Alf knows there is no proper debate on any of this and the pace of public sector reform is too slow.
The NHS was supposed to have delivered £20 billion GBP in efficiency savings but has too many managers,trusts and directors all of whom want to keep their jobs and in addition has poor procurement and 20% losses to its budget caused by lawyers,gagging orders and payoffs.
Now because austerity went on for too long the pay cap will have to be removed but the fundamental causes of NHS failure still remain.
One of those is the failure of the public ,mostly at the stupid end of the spectrum,to take any personal responsibility for their health.
The Guardian even in this article,never talks about that but after all this time the cap for nurses,policemen and low level public sector workers must be removed as a matter of fairness with the extra costs offset by a clearout of middle managers and unnecessary people at the top.
Until this is done our Ruritanian armed forces are a laughing stock rendering us impotent and yes we will be smaller if we dont start earning foreign exchange and paying our way.
America will eventually see Donald Trump go,not because of his links to Russia but because he will not be able to “bring the jobs back” on a long term basis or at all without a long and bloody conventional war which will be politically unpopular and go against all the promises he made to get elected.
The 2 million desperate and impoverished souls who he mobilised and who put him into office will die off (their life expectancy is 5 years less than similar people in impoverished and bankrupt Greece) and they will be sadly forgotten but the problems of job destruction via AI and technology will remain.
The new “enemy” will be who owns the robots but no politician has thought through the transition to a jobless world and they plus members of the public still cling to the idea that “new jobs will be created” to replace the ones destroyed whilst forgetting that many of those new jobs require greater skills,competencies and intelligence than many people possess or are likely to ever possess.
The Guardian and its reporters has not thought about this and neither have the American media so I see trouble ahead for the UK,Europe and America until the solution is articulated which in my estimation will only happen after rabble rousing and insurrection by elements of the proletariat in each place.