Some 90 years after U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt uttered his famous “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” populist politicians are not afraid to fan the flames of anxiety if it means getting elected.
One of the good things about summer is a reduced exposure to political grandstanding as legislative bodies at all levels take a seasonal hiatus from formal lawmaking and are relegated to pancakes, barbeques, and soon, outhouse races.
That’s good – the general public gets enough endless political bickering and negativity, which only gets worse with social media.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has taken to the barbeque circuit with gusto, embracing the language of conspiracy theorists to repeatedly heap scorn on the World Economic Forum, (WEF) a global group that meets regularly to discuss global trade, humanitarian issues, the environment – just about everything that could benefit from worldwide collaboration.
Poilievre casts them as a dark, sinister force that should be feared, along with the Bank of Canada and of course, prime minister Justin Trudeau.
“It’s far past time we rejected the globalist Davos elites and bring home the common sense of the common people,” he wrote in a recent party fundraising email.
Conspiracy theorists brought their message of fear to Cochrane at a demonstration outside the RancheHouse earlier this year, along with impassioned pleas for freedom, and opposition to a policy called ‘15-minute cities’ – something that’s not even being considered here.
Poilievre conveniently ignores the fact that he was a member of the Stephen Harper government that regularly attended WEF forums.
Those opposed to science, facts and evidence thrive as fringe members of mainstream parties.
And leaders pander to their fears because it seems to be working.
Just ask Danielle Smith if the anti-vaccine, anti-WEF, pro-freedom, conspiracy-friendly rhetoric appeals to the fringe.
The outhouse races can’t come soon enough.
