Justin Trudeau may have just fallen over the line in Monday’s Canadian federal election, but he’s not looking much of a winner. The truth is that Trudeau has been dealt a humiliating blow that only just fell short of a knockout.
Trudeau swept into power in 2016 in a landslide that had over-excited commentators babbling about a new Trudeau dynasty. Three years later, Trudeau has barely clung to power. His Liberal party suffered a crushing loss of 20 seats. His somewhat reluctant allies, the NDP, lost 15.
Canadians deserted the left; they just didn’t drift far enough right to deliver victory to the Conservatives. While the Conservatives gained 26 seats (a 30% increase), the biggest winners were the centre-left Bloc Quebecois, who gained 22 seats – a 200% surge.
Justin Trudeau, the Prince Charming of the global order, the wizard of woke, the anti-Trump, has come crashing down to earth. The Canadian leader lost 27 seats in Monday’s general election and will now struggle with a minority government. The betting is he won’t be able to serve out his full term as prime minister.
Being reduced to minority government just one term after ascending to power in a landslide is a poison chalice. Think Australian PM Julia Gillard in 2010.
Certainly, John Howard was lucky to survive a massive swing during his first term, but not only did he retain a clear majority in parliament Howard was also an unrivalled political operator. Justin Trudeau, like Julia Gillard, is not. A minority leader is a lamed beast at the mercy of whichever minor party they are forced to court to retain government. Gillard was forced to concede to the looney demands of the Greens time and again. NDP are another “rainbow progressive” party who will almost certainly run Trudeau ragged.
It’s almost certain that this weeks “win” has merely put off a landslide defeat by a term – if that.
Naturally, the increasingly marshmallow-left The Times is wringing its hands over the almost-certainly fatal wounding of their unicorn prince.
The world will be left without a clear counter-voice to the realpolitik practitioners and the populists who are setting so much of the agenda.
Why is it so hard to find an answer to Donald Trump?
Perhaps they should consider that the answer is a Canuck Trump? Where Trump is reviving American industry, Canadians under Trudeau have watched manufacturing head steadily south to Mexico.
Two thirds of Canadians, according to an Ipsos survey this week, agree that the country “needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and the powerful”. As in their southern neighbour, there are great stretches of the population with a sense of grievance and dispossession.
What they do have is a weakening prime minister, over-promising and under-delivering.
theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/justin-trudeau-the-wizard-of-woke-comes-crashing-down-to-earth
The media-elite like the Times might wail and gnash their teeth that the Bad Orange Man is weakening their precious globalist system, but many Canadians are almost certainly watching Americans reap the benefits of his policies. As their lame unicorn limps along through another term of selfies, dress-ups and ineffectual rainbow waffling, they’ll likely be sharpening their knives in anticipation of 2022 – if not sooner.
