Donald Trump finds himself, in the comedian Bill Mahar's words, "on the other end of an eviction notice." But that doesn't mean he's going away. Susan Delacourt writes:
The fact that Trump gained more votes in 2020 than he did four years ago — roughly seven million more, so far — should serve as bracing evidence that Trumpism is more than a blip on the political landscape.
Which raises the question, "Could Trumpism -- like Covid -- drift north of the border?" Frank Graves thinks so:
Frank Graves, the EKOS pollster who has been doing an intense study of populism and its potential to surface in Canada, was not feeling complacent at all as the results rolled in from the Nov. 3 vote. Graves and Michael Valpy wrote a piece in the Star on the eve of the vote last week, and the conclusion of that article was a warning and a prediction wrapped up in four words: “Trump is still competitive.”
Quietly, methodically, Graves has been analyzing the component pieces of Trump’s appeal and what feeds the political culture of grievance that the president championed. Much of Graves’ findings were published earlier this year in a paper for the University of Calgary’s public-policy school — a paper that should be required reading for any Canadians of the “it can’t happen here” way of thinking.
Graves has coined the phrase “ordered populism” to describe the Trump phenomenon and the paper’s summary describes it this way:
“Ordered populism rests on the belief in a corrupt elite, and the idea that power needs to be wrested from this elite and returned to the people. Oriented toward authoritarianism, ordered populism emphasizes obedience, hostility toward outgroups, a desire to turn back the clock to a time of greater order in society, and a search for a strongman type to lead the return to a better time.”
Does that type of politics exist in Canada? It sure does, Graves says, and it’s been on the rise for the past few years. His research says that view is shared by as much as a third of the population and its ascent is accompanied by increases in polarization, inequality and a decline in the middle class.
The last four years offer a cautionary tale to anyone who is paying attention. Are Canadians paying attention?
Image: Al Jazeera
14 comments:
The ingredients are all there. What's missing in Canada is the charismatic leader - there's no Franco, no Mussolini, no Hitler, no Pinochet, no Duterte, no Trump. The bomb is missing its primer - Harper, Scheer and O'Toole didn't and don't have the right stuff. For that we should be thankful.
Cap
We've been lucky so far, Cap. All the bombs have been duds.
Not on topic but a Kenyan reporter has done a set of brilliant Breaking News tweets the US election.
Warning: Put beverages down before before reading.
Yes, all the ingredients are here. We even have wannabe charismatic leaders who (fortunately) are worth a laugh.
What subdues Canadians is universal health care and some social programs. While they certainly need improvements they are substantially better than found in the US. Canadians don't lose their houses to pay medical bills. Contented people don't rise up in rebellion.
Is there a link to this reporter, jrk?
Absolutely true, Toby. Populism is fueled by anger.
I spotted this online today:
It's 2020 and Germany is celebrating the defeat of fascism in the United States. How stunning is that?
Sorry, somehow I forgot to paste the link.
Kenyan Reporting from the election front lines in the USA.
As for Canada, of course it could happen here. A chilling roadmap to how authoritarianism can conquers the middle classes is chronicled in Sebastien Haffner's "Defying Hitler." From childhood I wondered how an advanced country, Germany, could succumb to a movement so coarse and brutal as Nazism and whether we could go the same way.
https://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.com/2019/08/fascists-dont-kick-in-our-doors-we.html
The Germans truly understand why there is reason to celebrate, Mound.
It's interesting to see how African countries have reacted to Trump's election strategy, jrk. And Europe has chimed in positively about Biden's victory. Unfortunately, most Americans don't know -- and don't care -- how the rest of the world sees them.
It's so easy to awake our darker angels, Mound. Unfortunately, it looks like Blogger is still not functioning as it should.
Anonymous Toby said...
Yes, all the ingredients are here.
Yes they are but let's not forget that there have be much fewer cries to emulate the USA since Trump came to the scene.
Gone are the cries for American healthcare and low taxes, gone is the cry for less government , the list is long.
A trip to the National Posts comments reveals a huge move way from the adoration of Trump.
When the cry of build that wall !! comes from Canadians you know there has been a sea change.
TB
And I suspect that Canadians would pay for the wall, TB.
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