a brash populist

[Inouez]

HI
I want to know the meaning of "brash" in below phrase in The Economist.

TO CRITICS of Mahinda Rajapaksa, local-council elections that were held in Sri Lanka on February 10th felt like a horror film, as the controversial ex-president rose from his silk-lined political coffin to declare victory. And what a victory it was for Mr Rajapaksa, a brash populist whose exit in 2015 after ten bloodstained and corruption-tainted years in power was widely heralded as a bright new dawn for the civil-war-battered island republic.

Link is here.
<In Sri Lanka, local elections have rattled the government>

Hope some kind person will kindly explain to me by using some para-phrase explanation.

Inouez
25

 

[Packard]

It is a straight forward use of the word "brash".

brash1
braSH/
adjective

1. self-assertive in a rude, noisy, or overbearing way.

He was a populist (represented the common folks) in rude, noisy, or overbearing way.

pop·u·list
ˈpäpyələst/
noun
plural noun: populists

1. a member or adherent of a political party seeking to represent the interests of ordinary people.
   • a person who holds, or who is concerned with, the views of ordinary people.

 

[Inouez]

HI Packard

Got it,,, it means some negative feeling.

 

[velisarius]

"Populist" even by itself is negative in today's political parlance. It's normally a term used by one's opponents as a slur.

Populist - Is it a compliment or criticism?

 

[Packard]

It's a label. Almost any label applied to a person is, on some level derogatory. To avoid that, just describe what he represents.

1. He was a northern Liberal politician.
2. He had a progressive attitude towards political reform with strong views on freedom of the individual and governmental guarantees of individual rights and liberties.

Both #1 and #2 describe the same politician. The first can be viewed as negative and is a label; the second allows for individual interpretation and is a description.