Is politics becoming ever more of a performance art? Just days ago, senior aides to Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump suggested that their boss had been playing a “part” up until now with all his name-calling and wild Muslim-baiting, Mexican-hating talk. Mr Trump, they promised, would change forthwith and become as presidential a candidate as any political party anywhere could possibly want. Sober. Safe. Slightly boring, perhaps.
Never mind the schizophrenic implications of that promise, consider the candour with which such a change is being discussed. That a politician – especially a political novice such as Mr Trump – should openly indicate he plans to change public persona like a suit, says something about the system. It suggests that we live in an age in which the politician sees himself as no more than an actor and that the public is willing to suspend disbelief during the performance.
We have it on good authority. Kevin Spacey, a real rather than pretend actor, has spent the past few years portraying the odious and ambitious American politician Frank Underwood for the popular Netflix series House of Cards. Real politics, said Mr Spacey after shadowing leading politicians in Washington as research for the show, is "performance art. I don't believe [politicians] … I don't think they're being absolutely sincere. I think it's performance art, and most of them are bad actors."
Even so, perhaps it’s unfair to damn everyone in public life on the basis of maverick comments from Mr Trump’s political campaign. He is, after all, a former reality television star and may be expected to see everything as a staged event that is meant to drive up ratings. And the United States is emphatically not an ideology-free zone. But role-play and showmanship – acting and speaking as befits the moment – has become a more decided feature of political life in many countries.
This change has happened over at least 40 years. A 2012 report by the Centre for the Study of Integrity at Britain’s Essex University found that people consistently ranked “spin” as the trait they most dislike about politicians. By implication, the British public dislikes the evident insincerity of politicians playing a part.
A decade before that study, Australian politician and former economics professor Andrew Leigh wrote a paper explaining popular distrust of politicians in Australia and the United States. He quoted data going back to 1958 from the American National Election Studies. Leigh discerned that the main change in trust occurred from 1964 to 1980. In 1964, 76 per cent of Americans displayed trust in their political leaders. By 1980, it was just 25 per cent.
Political scientists see America’s crisis of trust as the result of the 1980s rise of political spin-doctoring, with its attendant performance-art features of exaggerated role-play and empathetic showmanship. This, in turn, prompted the media to focus on a politician’s strategy and tactics and how they said something rather than what they actually said. Reportage further weakened public trust in politicians.
This is not to say that spin – or the use of rhetoric to sell bad policies or a good war – is a 20th-century invention. It has been around from the time that politicians wore Roman togas or Grecian sandals. Plato was objecting to its truth-distorting nature 2,400 years ago. But the modern spin era – which is only 115 years old, having started with American president Teddy Roosevelt – is altogether different from the smooth-tongued orations that Plato found disturbing. It has continually evolved to the point where it creates and packages a product in full view of those people who will buy it knowing that it is not the real thing.
In his new book Republic of Spin, historian David Greenberg lays out the ways in which American politicians obfuscate and misdirect, thereby skilfully manipulating public opinion. Though Greenberg doesn't say it, the political performance art practised in advanced democracies has found disturbing resonance in emerging countries. Not least India, the world's largest and most populous democracy. Political histrionics was indispensable to Narendra Modi in erasing memories of his controversial record and winning the 2014 general election by a landslide. And it remains a feature of his tenure. Just a few months ago, the Indian government was caught tweeting an apparently doctored photo of the image-conscious prime minister surveying the flood-hit southern state of Tamil Nadu from a helicopter. It was meant to convey his empathy for the people but appeared to show hypocrisy instead. The doctoring prompted some comment and then the public lapsed into its long-held cynicism of politicians who behave like actors.
Even Canada’s recently elected prime minister Justin Trudeau could be said to be playing a carefully scripted role as an inclusive politician. His cabinet – exactly picked for diversity in race, expertise and gender – might have come straight out of central casting. But at least Mr Trudeau is focusing on the positives of the Canadian temperament in the 21st century. What of politicians who want to manipulate public opinion for negative ends?
Greenberg says that the facts will always outweigh spin.
Perhaps. But the dangers lie in the mutation of the political image industry. Like native advertising, which is cleverly embedded reporting, it is merging product promotion with content in a way that makes it hard to figure out reality.
Most people no longer even try. It is telling that a politician au naturel is generally supposed to be one who is artfully portraying authenticity.
But for democracy to survive, there must be some unvarnished truth.
Rashmee Roshan Lall is a writer on world affairs
On Twitter: @rashmeerl
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Episode list:
Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5: Travel and tourism
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
Greatest Royal Rumble match listing
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The%20specs
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
