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    Why Europe’s new populists tell so many lies – and do it so shamelessly | Catherine Fieschi

    From Matteo Salvini to Boris Johnson, populist politicians brazenly distort the truth. Don’t think they do it to be believed
    by Catherine Fieschi Sep 30, 2019 5 minutes
    From left, Geert Wilders, Matteo Salvini, Jörg Meuthen (leader of Alternative for Germany) and Marine Le Pen in May. Photograph: Luca Bruno/AP

    The torrent of lies that flows from the mouths of populists feels relentless: from Donald Trump’s routine lying about everything from Iran to the weather, to Boris Johnson’s fictitious £350m for the NHS, Turkey on the cusp of joining the EU or most sensationally misleading the Queen about why the UK parliament should be shut down.

    My research on populism elsewhere in Europe confirms that lying is a constant feature of populist politics. In France, Marine Le Pen lies about how her party spends public money and her (fake) Twitter accounts. Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, lies gigantically and systematically about the migration to his country. As for Italy’s Matteo Salvini – from migration to sanctions against Russia – as the song goes, if his lips are moving, he’s lying.

    The defiant line, found nestling in most populist party manifestos, used to be: “We’re only saying what everyone

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