Colombia just delivered a bloody nose to the global populist wave. The left-wing candidate, Gustavo Petro, lost the presidential runoff to the conservative Iván Duque. British Foreign Office sources are privately jubilant.
They funded voter education programmes and observer missions. The message? Democracy can hold if you spend on institutions.
Duque’s victory is a win for the establishment. But the establishment is nervous. Petro came close.
Really close. The gap was just 2.1 points.
That’s a warning shot. The narrative from Whitehall is clear: British soft power works. But for how long?
The left is regrouping. Expect more panic in the Lobby. The real story is the polling.
It was off by miles. Again. The pollsters misread the rural vote.
Duque’s campaign ran a ruthless ground game. They targeted the disaffected. Sound familiar?
British strategists are taking notes. Next stop: the midterms? Not quite.
But the playbook is being copied. The Lib Dems are already briefing. The Tories are watching.
Labour is silent. That silence is telling. They know populism is a boomerang.
It hits left and right. For now, the champagne is on ice in the Foreign Office. But the hangover is coming.
The left will learn from this. They’ll adapt. The question is: will the establishment?
