I don't buy it. People aren't that easily influenceable; they are just extremely tired from decades of failed liberal policies and out of alternatives. The populist right-wing wins we're seeing all over the world are the expression of the immense frustration people have with the system.

You want democracy to work? Give people real choices, not the usual binary bad or more bad. Make them feel like their vote matters for once.

I observe for myself that I am rather quickly influenced by the information I take in. Since I’m aware of that, I’m diligent in the information I seek out, and can therefore compensate for some amount of misinformation. Other people aren’t necessarily aware or diligent in that way.

I’m not satisfied with the voting choices either, but I do have some understanding of why they are the way they are. It is a nontrivial systemic issue, and voting populist does not improve that situation.

You seem to see a dichotomy between the politicians that provide voting choices and the rest of the population that votes. I don’t see it that way. The politicians are part of the population, they represent the population. I won’t tell you to go into politics to try to change things, but if you did, then maybe you’ll realize why it’s hard, and that how things are is a function of human nature, of the particular country’s specific political system, and of the world being more complicated than many people recognize.