The lack of trust in political elites is linked to a suspicion, which is not entirely irrational, that elected governments have little authority. The real power, people suspect, is lodged elsewhere – on Wall Street, in the unelected EU bureaucracy, in the Royal Thai Army and the Royal Palace.
但是，我们也可以从另一个角度来观察民粹运动的兴起。传统精英阶层势力或许不是过于强大，而是太弱小。缺乏政治互信导致相互之间非理性的猜疑，这使得政府缺乏应有的权威。而真正的权力却被转到到了——华尔街，未经选举的欧盟官僚以及泰国皇家部队和泰王手中。