2016, that.
He is a hero to some and a villain to others, but no one can deny that Nigel Paul Farage has enjoyed a highly influential and personally satisfying 2016. Not only was he pivotal to the successful Brexit campaign to leave the European Union, but he is constantly name-checked and praised by the next Leader of the Free World, Donald Trump.
Now the UKIP veteran is set to see out his
annus mirabilis with the prestigious accolade of being named Time magazine's Person of the Year. Previous POTY alumni include, in particular order: Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, Pope John Paul II, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Queen Elizabeth II.
Farage has been shortlisted for the 2016 title along with the following luminaries:
- US Olympic gymnast Simone Biles
- Russia's CRISPR scientists, who have developed technology that can edit DNA
- Turkish Preisdent Recep Tayyip Erdogan
- Residents of Flint, Michigan who blew the whistle on lead-poisoned water
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
- Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg
The MEP was previously named the Times' 'Briton of they Year' back in 2014, and his worldwide renown (and notoriety) has only increased exponentially since.
As for critics who may argue he is wholly undeserving of the title, it is worth noting that the objective is to identify the one individual who, "for better or for worse...has done the most to influence the events of the year". Indeed Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Richard Nixon and Ayatollah Khomeini have all been previously recognised as such.
If successful, it will no doubt tickle Mr Farage to directly follow last year's Time Person of the Year - Chancellor of Germany and Europhile-in-chief, Angela Merkel.
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