Monday, July 15, 2019

Getting Nasty


If you were wondering how Doug Ford is faring, a new poll has some answers. Kristin Rushowy reports in The Toronto Star that:

The patronage scandal that continues to batter the premier’s office has hit home for voters, with almost 60 per cent believing the Ford government is corrupt and even more saying too many “cronies” have been hired, a new poll suggests.
The Corbett Communications survey also found that just 10 per cent of respondents think the departure of chief of staff Dean French — whose friends and family members received plum postings — will undo the damage.
The survey of 936 voters taken July 9 and 10 — a little over two weeks after French left as Premier Doug Ford’s chief of staff — saw 63 per cent say the government has doled out appointments to too many cronies, with 57 per cent agreeing with the statement that the Ford government is corrupt. Among PC voters, 10 per cent believe that to be true, the poll found; almost 30 per cent of PC voters “agree too many cronies have been hired” and “disagree the departure of French has solved the problem.”

Ontarians now believe they have Ford's number and they're mightily displeased:

Corbett described Ford’s unpopularity — with 20 per cent of those polled approving of the job he is doing and 69 per disapproving — as “in the dumper” and “unsustainable” for him to remain as leader.
PCs support has dropped again, putting the governing party in a tie with the NDP and the Liberals, despite the Liberals’ decimation to just seven seats in the election a year ago, the poll found.
In addition, the government’s “for the people” slogan doesn’t sit well with voters, with just one in five polled agreeing with a statement that “Ford cares about people like them.”
His government’s budget has proved deeply unpopular, with almost 70 per cent saying Ontario has the money and should not be cutting back on services that help the vulnerable, the poll found. Among PC voters, about 40 per cent feel the same.
“There are enough indications to really demonstrate that his whole shtick is starting to ring hollow,” about having to rein in the deficit and cut services, Corbett added. “The public is not buying it anymore.”

When people discover they've been conned, the fallout can get very nasty.

Image: Niagara At Large

6 comments:

Lorne said...

We can only hope that sufficient numbers of voters realize that when you put your faith in a conservatism that only wields scissors, people get hurt, Owen.

Owen Gray said...

As John Kenneth Galbraith wrote long ago, Lorne, modern conservatives have tried to transform selfishness into a virtue. It's taken the public a long time to cotton on to what they have been trying to do.

John B. said...

These modern conservatives have fled so far from conservatism that it's time the press stopped referring to them as "Tories".

Owen Gray said...

I agree, John. These folks worship Ayn Rand. And I doubt they've read Edmund Burke.

e.a.f. said...

told you so.

what is going on in Ontario is what went on in B.C. and it started with Gordon Campbell become B.C. premier and who hired el gordo as his "advisor"? Don't worry things will get worse. They did in B.C., until we had the longest run of the highest rate of child poverty in Canada for 15 out of 16 yrs.

The Conservatives may not be able to rid themselves of Ford. If he has a lot of cronies in "high places" their loyality will be to him, not the party. Next time a trump wanna be comes along, Canadians need to have a really good look at that politician before they vote for them and/or their party.

Some may try to reign in Ford, but given his dtrump like personality expect more dtrump antics than Canadian politics. I'm sure Kathleen Wynne is looking good to a lot of Ontario voters right about now.

Owen Gray said...

When your sole motive for voting is anger, e.a.f, you get saddled with people like Ford. It always pays to think things through -- something, by the way, which Ford doesn't know how to do.