In politics, nothing matters more than optics. So when you position yourself as the anti-elite, anti-globalist candidate, attending a World Economic Forum gathering in Davos on a pass from a friendly billionaire might raise a few questions – as it has done for Nigel Farage.
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‘The elites are notice’, are they?
Earlier this week, the leader of the Reform Party confirmed he would be travelling to Davos, to ‘put the elites on notice’. His contributions to the event were marginal, but he did find time to express his disagreements with Donald Trump, on the issue of British troops contributing in Afghanistan.
“I politely object to him saying ‘NATO has not given us anything back’. When we decided to go into Afghanistan, we stayed by America for 20 years, and proportionately spent the same money lost the same number of people. So, what Trump has said is not quite fair.” | Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage and the Iranian billionaire – what do we know?
Vowing to ‘not live by the agenda of global elites’, Farage posted an 82-second clip of him stood by the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland, assuring his supporters that ‘the cosy consensus’ of Davos has been shattered. However, this was no rag-to-riches story for the political firebrand.
As revealed by the Financial Times, Mr. Farage was actually attending the gathering at the behest of Sasan Ghandehari – an Iranian billionaire. He owns HP Trust, which reportedly has assets worth over $10 billion. It’s understood that Ghandehari also paid for the Clacton MP’s hotel stay.
In comments shared with the publication, a representative of the billionaire stated that Nigel Farage attended an ‘honourary adviser’, and that their business relationship goes back eight years. However, Team Nigel have disputed these claims, saying that he has ‘never been an adviser’ to HP Trust.
Regardless of the semantics, the relationship between the pair casts doubt over the image Farage wants voters to see. His dismissal of a ‘cosy consensus’ doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny, when he allegedly seems to be part of it all. Optics, Nigel. Optics…