The divergence of US and British populism

London

BRITAIN, France, the United States - which is the odd one out politically? The answer seems obvious. Last year's Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom and the election of Donald Trump in the United States were the twin symbols of populist revolt against global elites. In Emmanuel Macron, France, by contrast, has just elected as its president the quintessential "Davos Man" - a proudly globalist technocrat identified with his country's most elitist financial, administrative, and educational institutions.

But step back for a moment from these political clichés, as I did last month when I fled the British election campaign to attend the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles. The Milken conference is the US equivalent of Davos, but with a more serious business focus and the strong US government representation that Davos has never achieved.