Popular, charismatic political saviours can be a contagion in their nation’s body politic. I’m not saying that Emmanuel Macron or Justin Trudeau are the patient zeroes of deadly pandemics, but that their impact has awakened a dormant problem that, while it won’t kill us, can severely impede our cognitive abilities. Case in point: Jacindamania – the media frenzy around the rise of new Labour leader Jacinda Ardern during New Zealand’s general election, that has pundits and political geeks feverishly hallucinating a two-horse race. Which in turn, for the public, enforces a delusion that the country still votes under a First Past the Post system. Without strong third parties, Labour and National – both still lacking truly bold reforms in housing, the environment, employment or productivity – as an 80% plus two-party billing could seal a cosy consensus for years to come.
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Q&A | Tucson’s Leila Lopez peels back her Animal Skin
Leila Lopez is a known, loved name in Tucson, Arizona. The prolific artist has been making and performing music in her hometown for much of her life, and is no stranger on the local circuit. Out this week, her latest album Our Animal Skin sees Leila pull back the layers of her recent history, exploring the ebbs and flows that have made her her current self. She talks to Sarah about what drives her to create, why Tucson’s so special, and some of her favourite artists and venues in the desert town.
IMPOLITIKAL 