Beware: voters are fed up of subtle spin and want straight talk

One is on the extreme left, the other on the far right, that too on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. Finding a common ground between the two — US Republican presidential nomination hopeful Donald Trump and British Labour Party leadership aspirant Jeremy Corbyn — should, therefore, be impossible. Yet, the parallels in their unexpected popularity cannot be ignored, especially as they run confoundingly counter to their stock among their peers and even the media. The more they annoy the latter and make them squirm, the more the public perversely rallies behind them, it seems. After photo-bombing, the next phenomenon could be vote-hijacking: schadenfreude as a way to wrest support from expected front-runners could certainly be an interesting innovation.

Of course, there should be concern in some circles if politicians start scoring points off the low image of politicians in general. Cannibalism is not a very good idea in the long run after all. But, clearly, shibboleth-shattering oratory has found resonance. Maybe the public is tiring of the ‘nuanced’ and ‘calibrated’ verbiage of the old school. For, in comparison to the billionaire’s bellicosity and the Left veteran’s ‘unspun’ approach, the more practised politicians seem mealymouthed, if not financially beholden to unseen interests that necessitate such diplomacy.…