Comment by mft_

> I don't think so. It's essentially an accusation that they haven't thought through the hard issues...

...which itself is nosensical as a generic label, without considering policies individually.

Virtually all politicians say things to help them get elected which are somewhere on a spectrum from 'a vision for the future that is unlikely to be delivered' to 'outright lie'. Of course, on the one hand, we want leaders with a positive vision for the future, which means speaking about possibilities which aren't yet realised, but when even leaders as sensible/stodgy as Starmer/Reeves are doing it ("it's all about growth"... then deliver virtually no policies to meaningfully drive growth) you can see where the growing mistrust of politicians comes from.

I'd characterise "populist" more as "willing to challenge the status quo" - where the status quo in this case is boring centerist politics that rarely/never delivers exciting or meaningful change, is more or less (depending on the country) in the pocket of big business and donors, and which has overseen a progressive worsening of financial inequality and funadamental justice over decades. Which is why the establishment are threatened and use "populist" as an insult, while "populists" are growing their support, be they on the left or right - because people are crying out for something different, even if it comes with potential downsides.