The Shrinking Of The Political Centre
Last October, the city of Toronto made a dramatic shift to the right of the political spectrum.
Like many other democracies and jurisdictions across the globe, sentiments anchored on fear, anger, anti-immigration, anti-homosexuality, burqa bans, pro-war, and cuts to social services are quickly gaining support and chipping away at the sensible and progressive centre in (Canadian) politics.
As Torontonians and folks across the country continue to scratch their heads and wonder how this could have happened to a city like Toronto, consider the following:
The Tea Party in the USA is witnessing a swell of support in the lead up to the mid-term elections. They are capitalizing on the politics of division. Several of their “new political stars” are on the record proudly championing anti-immigration sentiments and a political message that is ripping the American social fabric apart.
In the Netherlands, earlier this year, MP Geert Wilders led his right wing party to a strong third place finish and a partner in the new coalition government. This is a man who has openly called for a Muslim “head rag tax” and believes that “deporting millions of European Muslims may be necessary” in the near future.
In Sweden and Denmark, passionately democratic countries with strong creeds of tolerance, parties of the right are experiencing a wave of electoral success. In Sweden – the openly racist and populist party – and former Nazi supporters are now a reality inside Parliament.
Earlier this year, in Germany and then in the UK, Chancellor Merkel and declared loudly that “multiculturalism is a major failure” sparking a national debate on the role of immigrants in German society.
In Quebec (Canada), Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, bans on Muslim women’s garments have been passed or are currently being debated in Parliament. In all these countries, a false feminism is prevailing over religious and individual rights.
Several months back, in traditionally “neutral” Switzerland, a national referendum was held and a ban to eliminate the building of minarets was passed. The reason? Muslims are “taking over the country.”
Closer to home, Toronto is now feeling the consequences of what it means to elect a man whose social conservatism consists of declaring a war on immigrants, homosexuals, the homeless, streetcars and transit, and social services. Mayor Ford talks of “dismantling” and never about “building.” The election of Toronto’s new mayor is undoubtedly having repercussions on the provincial and federal scenes here in Canada.
Many will offer their suggestions as to why democracies and jurisdictions within those democracies are seeing this shift to the right. Whatever the reason, this should be a wakeup call to all progressive Canadians who are part of the political center in this country.
Unfortunately, right now, we are seeing anger as the driving force behind policy decisions and campaign rhetoric. Simplicity in politics is translating into electoral success. Fear is proving to be a lot easier to spread than hope.
The challenge for progressive Canadians is to reach out, and make others aware of this political reality. The sensible “middle” in Canada is becoming too complacent. We have lost our backbone. It is no longer sufficient to compare ourselves to previous governments, or worse, to our neighbours to the South. The centre in Canadian politics need to demonstrate to voters why they should be voting FOR something. We need to define and defend what it is we stand for.
The truth is the centre is no longer holding, and progressives everywhere need to dig deep, find our intestinal fortitude, and realize that demands for a "stop to the gravy train” is no longer a fringe political concept.
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A different version of this blog post was originally written after Rob Ford's victory in Toronto (October 25, 2010). Changes and new links were added to reflect the current reality in Toronto and in Canada.