Monday, August 07, 2023

The Trump Of The North


According to a recent Abacus poll, a large number of Canadians don't like any of the party leaders. Michael Harris writes:

Here are the numbers: 33 per cent Liberal; 22 per cent NDP and 19 per cent Conservative. According to pollster David Coletto, it is this group of people who don’t favour any of the leaders that will decide the next election. If Trudeau can hold on to the Liberal vote in this group and add it to the 20 per cent who want him to remain PM, there is a realistic chance he will win a fourth term.

The same Abacus poll that showed an overwhelming majority wants a change in government also found 31 per cent of respondents didn’t like any of the politicians on offer. This group was then asked how they would vote if there were an election tomorrow.

It's clear that Justin Trudeau is in trouble. But so is Pierre Poilievre:

The sticking point is Pierre Poilievre’s slavish adherence to the kind of Trumpian nastiness that is rotting the heart of the Republican party in the Indicted States of America. Poilievre specializes in put-downs, not lift-ups. It is usually the latter that inspire Canadians.

With former PM Stephen Harper’s public endorsement, Poilievre won the top job by dragging the CPC further to the right. And he has maintained that Freedom Caucus-style political stance as leader of the Opposition.

Gut the CBC, fire the chairman of the Bank of Canada, close safe injection sites, and keep the drill bit turning to the right while the planet is deep in a fossil-fuelled fever.

That approach may have gotten Skippy the clip of the day from question period, but it didn’t make more room in the CPC tent. Politics is a game of addition, not subtraction, and so far, Poilievre’s has got the arithmetic backwards. Great at subtraction, a flop at addition.
In the wake of Donald Trump's third indictment -- a fourth is on the way -- it's truly strange that Poilievre keeps insisting that he's the Trump Of The North.

Image: Sean Kilpatrick, the Canadian Press.

8 comments:

Gordie said...

Saw an ad on tv for pp making him out to be a kind, caring, family man...a person just like you and me. I didn't pay much attention to it. We'll see how it flies.

Owen Gray said...

He's trying to re-work his image, Gordie. That's why he's ditched his glasses. Seems he's having a tough sell.

Northern PoV said...

A very timely Barbie-themed pic of Justin with Xavier showed up on my twitter feed ...
Sophie's replacement for those photos ops?

Yes, it is nice to reduce child poverty, legalize pot and govern effectively in an unprecedented pandemic.

Alas, Jr.'s failure on voting reform condemns us to a future PM PP or his equivalent down the road if Lil'PP succeeds in rendering himself electorally unpalatable. And Jr.'s failures on fossil fuels commits Canada to a follower-role in literally fueling the coming extinction event.

Owen Gray said...

Thr failure of election reform is Justin's biggest failure, PoV.

e.a.f. said...

There is nothing appealing about PP. He isn't pleasant, he has a mouth on him which doesn't know when to quit. During the "convoy" he went to meet with them?????
He critizies the Liberals but offers no suggestions or plans. Then there were all the reasons voters got rid of Harper. Voters remember PP was part of that government. Most don't want a redo of that. Many voters aren't sure what PP would do as P.M.. At least they know what to expect from Trudeau. Given PP's lack of social skills do we really want him on the international stage representing our country?????

Many people are aware the Conservatives have never provided any social programs which worked for the people who needed them. They're good for corporations. over the decades the federal LIberals with the assistance or the insinstance of the NDP we got CPP, nationally funded health care--its still better than what the Americans have, families receive cheques each money for their children if their income is below a specific level, kids may even get a dental program. Still can't think of any social programs we got from the Conservatives.
The Conservatives would have been better off to have kept O'toole. He actually seemed pleasant and not so creepy as some of the other leaders.

Owen Gray said...

Unfortunately, e.a.f, O'Toole wasn't from the West. And that's the problem with the party. It's a regional -- not a national -- party.

Anonymous said...

The makeover and the new $3 Million ad campaign, plus sending the wife out on the trail is all meant to deceive the public. The new Poillevre is meant to quash the whining, snivelling man-child in the glasses and cheap suit and present a young looking, big piped dude as the guy running for PM. It is brilliant as this could sway just enough voters to put butts in seats whenever the hapless Singh steps in it and forces an election well before 2025. However, if the Liberals can do some self reflection and replace Justin before the end of the year, they could get out well ahead of the party that should not ever come close to holding parliament again (given what they did during the pandemic- totally disqualifying dangerous nonsense). I do like Justin's ability to troll the incels who back this movement they are losing their ever-loving minds over the Barbie pic with his son, bringing out all kinds of homophobic garbage. Hoping someone is in Justin's ear to turn this Poillevre nonsense on its ear. BC Waterboy

Owen Gray said...

Poilievre -- as always -- is spouting nonsense, waterboy. The Liberals need a rapid response team to counter his propaganda.