Images courtesy of Wikipedia and CTV
As I have written before, the right wing in Britain, Canada, and USA is in crisis. Due mainly to our first-past-the-post election systems, right-wing parties have been polarized into a position where in order to win an election, the economic conservatives (who want to run their businesses without government interference) need the support of social conservatives, (who want to go back to the old days of a hierarchy where they were at the top). To keep it all together, they have to cater to more and more radical conservatism, and they lose votes from moderate right-centre swing voters.
As this downward spiral continues, the various conservative parties have been unable to stop the rise of demagogues who will tell anybody whatever they want to hear in order to take power. Thus the average conservative political platform has diverged sharply from anything approaching normal.
In the past week, a reality check has happened in several jurisdictions.
- England
Boris Johnson rode to power on a wave of public dissatisfaction with the European Union, partially fueled by xenophobia and prejudice in social conservatives. He proved to be entertaining but inadequate.
So the Conservative Party chose Liz Truss to replace him. She turned out to be a Margaret Thatcher wannabe, and her new economic policy came straight out of the last century. The moment it appeared in the bright light of public opinion, its faults were immediately apparent, and Truss went down with her ship.
- USA
The Americans just have to be the leaders in everything, don’t they? The latest news from the south of the border is that the poster boy in this farce has been subpoenaed to appear before Congress to explain his attempt to take control through the last resort of all conservatives: violence.
- Alberta
Jason Kenney couldn’t fulfill his pledges, joining Erin O’Toole and Andrew Scheer on the scrap-heap of recent failed Conservative promise breakers. He was succeeded by Daniel Smith, whose first days in office have been rocky to say the least.
Her predicament was summed up by a political expert interviewed on CBC last week, who noted that when she stepped outside the narrow bubble of her supporters, she discovered that Alberta was a whole lot bigger than she realized.
And so we see the flaw in the Conservative system. Their leaders gain power by fostering unrealistic expectations. When election time comes, reality strikes. These leaders cannot put together a platform that both satisfies the people that put them in power and appeals to the general population. It’s a recipe for failure.
The Bottom Line
So now we turn to Pierre Poilievre, who is notorious for promising everyone exactly what they want to hear. The Liberals will have to do something really stupid (like running Justin Trudeau again) to lose the next federal election.