Doug Ford shuffled his cabinet yesterday. He believes that what he needs is a change of faces, not policy -- because he has been changing his own policies ever since he entered office. The problem isn't the faces of the Ford government. It's Ford himself. And, Bob Hepburn writes, the root of it all is Ford's insatiable need to be loved. These days he's not being shown much love:
Doug Ford smiled weakly as loud boos rained down on him on Monday from many of the 80,000 people at the Raptors’ victory celebration at Toronto City Hall.
The Ontario premier maintained his stoic grin a minute later as huge cheers greeted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who Ford despises.
It was the third time in recent weeks that Ford has been the target of widespread booing. The first occurred at the opening of the Special Olympics at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, an event filled with children, and the second at the Collision international high-tech conference, an event filled with entrepreneurs and business people
Ford's personal insecurity mirrors Donald Trump's insecurity:
Ford’s need to be liked is strikingly similar to the personality of U.S. President Donald Trump, who seeks the love of the crowd, especially at his political rallies, and seeks the blessing of major media and New York society, much of which can’t stand him.
Like Trump, Ford’s hunger to be liked is a defining element of his personality. That can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing when times get tough, which they clearly are now for Ford.
In an article in Psychology Today magazine, Ryne Sherman, a former professor of psychology at Florida University, analyzed Trump’s personality and behaviours, which closely mirror those of Ford. Sherman looked at the bright and dark sides of Trump’s personality and described how they play out in day-to-day interactions.
For Trump, it means he can appear calm under pressure and won't take criticism personally, but actually is reluctant to listen to criticism. He likes to be the centre of attention and to talk a lot, but is also unwilling to listen and is overbearing. He has lots of ideas, but has trouble implementing them and can be unpredictable.
Already Ford is displaying such signs of unpredictability. His flip-flops on issues ranging from housing on the Green Belt to autism funding, safe injection sites and immediate cuts to public health funding are indications of a politician not so much as listening to public criticism of his policies, but rather to criticism of him personally.
Sherman also says people with this type of personality are impulsive, are self-promoting, easily angered, intimidate others and overestimate their abilities. Describes Ford, don’t you think?
Like Trump, Ford’s political rallies are critical for him. He thrives on the love of the crowd, as he will at “Ford Fest” on Saturday at the Markham fairgrounds.
His hunger for applause contributes to his need to believe that while his poll numbers are down — and they show his popularity plunging and now lower than even those of former premier Kathleen Wynne on the eve of last June’s election — he still rules a huge, loving base of followers, namely Ford Nation.
That’s why Ford’s office is “urging” all Conservative MPPs to promote the event widely so it will be packed with adoring Ford fans — and become a safe space for the man who hungers to be loved.
Men like Ford and Trump think of themselves as leaders. The truth is that they are children looking for applause.
Image: healingforthefamily.com
2 comments:
How long will it be before the adults in his house, if there are any, send him to his room and tell him not to come out till he grows up? Could be a long wait eh Owen!
It's going to be a long wait, Rural. When you give kids the keys to the house, they lock you out.
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