On the electoral politics front here in Canada, we have been
living in pretty interesting times of late.
Who would have guessed, even a few weeks back, that a newspaper such as
the Sun would have editorials in the same week calling for Rob Ford and Stephen
Harper to step down. If that is the view
of the friends of the Conservatives one can only imagine how their enemies
feel.
For all of the Prime Minister’s
straight-shooter/man-of-the-people reputation he is remarkably unable to
justify or even acknowledge any of the decisions he has made lately. In the style of a television crime boss,
rather than accept any responsibility for his action, when facing scrutiny the
PM opts to dig up dirt, real or imagined, on his opponents. On the one-hand, we are morally superior to
the other parties and on the other, we engage in precisely the same type of
shifty behind-closed-doors dealing. This
Grade 2 ‘but Timmy does it too’ tactic is neither credible nor inspiring. The order of the day: deflection, deflection,
deflection. And if Harper truly believes
in the vacuous notion that government should be operated as a business, perhaps
he should take responsibility for those he has appointed – both those in the
Senate and in his own office. Some
CEO! Reminds me how the Conservatives
always attack the Liberals and NDP on economic issues, while a quick look to
the past reveals that if the Conservatives had had their way with respect to
deregulating financial institutions, Canada would be in the same bind as many
other struggling countries. No need to
mention that I guess when you have a flashy media-friendly (if barely existent)
‘action plan’.
And while the Harper administration talks about reeling in
spending they are not even credible on this front – their supposed forte. This very week a Toronto Star headline read
‘Harper’s Office Spends More As Rest of Government Holds The Line’. Wait, isn’t it the crazy, spendthrift,
unionized public service that is wasteful and in desperate need of
trimming? That’s what we’ve been
told. Still, I guess there is no need
for data when ‘common sense’ is on your side.
The same Star piece goes on to speculate, “What the numbers suggest is
that in Harper’s world restraint is virtue … to be practiced by others.” And what about the Globe & Mail headline
from earlier this summer that noted ‘Federal Deficit Balloons Despite Harper
Agenda’. A short, but interesting,
read. You don’t even have to have a long
memory, or be a political scientist, to realize the Harper administration is
not serious on this topic. The ideology
is not so much about saving taxpayer money, as it is to reallocate existing
funds to specific Conservative-friendly sectors and programs. This is the contemporary (sans Progressive)
Conservative reading of fiscal responsibility.
As incredulous-laugh inducing as he often is, the Rob Ford
fiasco feels more like a tragedy than a joke.
If the mayor of Toronto does indeed have problems there is no shame in
admitting and acknowledging them. Still,
it is his willingness to ignore the needs of the city over his own personal
issues that is so astounding. Part of
the mission of a politician is to bring people together with an aim of
consensus building and compromise. Current
issues aside Ford has been a remarkably divisive politician. As with all contemporary conservative
politicians Ford is marketed and sold as ‘salt-of-the-earth’ and ‘one-of-us’
rather than as the elite he truly is.
You need to do more than coach a sports team or drive your own vehicle
to dispel what is at core a sense of privilege and superiority. If anyone needs more proof that the
Conservatives have a class-based sense of entitlement they need go no further
than recollect recent comments made by Wallin and Duffy in the Senate. Imagine, these poor souls might temporarily
lose their salary … and benefits!
Gasp! One feels we are not far
from hearing one of our illustrious Senators say of the public ‘let them eat
cake’
While I can’t help but feel somewhat gleeful this week as
the Conservatives implode and start eating their own, I’m also constantly
uneasy. What is the larger story
here? As the conservatives in this country
have made a case for occupying the moral high ground in recent years it is
perhaps not surprising that some in the right wing base are shocked by the
recent activities of Ford and Harper.
But to me such personal failings, artificial populism, dodgy handling of
issues and hypocrisies are not the problem – or maybe they are linked to something else. It is not a ‘few bad apples’ or some ‘poor
choices’ but how the Conservatives present a hollow and bankrupt market-based
ideology. Units replace people. What is
sellable? The very ‘do as I say not as I
do’ and ‘lets operate government as a business’ attitude demonstrates an
ideology that is class-oriented, divorced from citizens and ultimately a
void. Harper is friends with Ford,
appointed Duffy and Wallin and claimed he was going to clean up the Senate for
the same expedient reasons – to raise funds and score easy political points.
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