Trump, Bolsonaro, Modi, Johnson. Across the world, flouting the law has become normalised. We have to stop it
It is not a sufficient condition for fascism to take root, but it is a necessary one: the willingness of political leaders not only to break the law but to revel in breaking it is a fatal step towards the replacement of democracy with authoritarian terror.
We see this at work in the United States today, where the Republican party’s blatant disregard for the constitution will allow Donald Trump to escape impeachment.
If Trump is elected for a second term, he will test to the limit the potential for wielding unconstitutional power. But the phenomenon is not confined to the US. Several powerful governments now wear illegality almost as a badge of honour.
Fascist and prefascist governments share, among others, two linked characteristics: they proudly flout the laws that are supposed to restrain them while introducing new, often unconstitutional laws to contain political opponents or oppress minorities.
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