The Washington Post takes on the issue of whether Pope Francis is a leftist. Their short answer: no. In fact, they allege, he is something different but in the opinion of COTTonLINE, equally bad: a Peronist.
Juan Peron was one of a group of third world tinpot dictators who believed they discerned a "middle way" between socialism/Communism on one hand and capitalism on the other. Libya's Gaddafi was another, as were Egypt's Nasser and the Bathist lovelies Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Haffez Assad in Syria. All were noted for favoring a strong leader and government intervention in the economy.
As regular readers know, we've often bemoaned the deleterious effects Peronism has wrought on the Argentine economy. It regularly manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. This in a country that should be one of the world's wealthiest but is normally within sight of bankruptcy.
Strange thought: Pope Francis would like all of us to share the Argentine travails, to experience the "joys" of Peronism first-hand. No thank you, Holiness, a fascist is no improvement over a socialist.
