Too much attention is being paid to how bad populist leaders such as Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen and Jeremy Corbyn are, and to how their programmes, left or right, will ruin the countries they aspire to govern. There is too little focus on the hope and optimism they give their many millions of followers.

It is true, for example, that Mr Corbyn, leader of the UK’s opposition Labour party, cuts no figure as a prime minister-in-waiting, as most of his parliamentary colleagues have discovered. But the minority support he attracts to Labour — and more importantly the signal sent by the Brexiter majority in June — speak clearly of frustration and resentment at being “left behind”.

It is the constituency to which Hillary Clinton spoke in her acceptance of the Democratic nomination in the US presidential race: “Some of you are frustrated — even furious. And you know what? You’re right.”