Let us state right off the hop that Pierre Poilievre is not a Nazi or a fascist. He may be an opportunistic career politician with limited real world experience, with no idea of how to actually form policy, with extremely limited political acumen and completely lacking in political scruples but he is not a porn star...Sorry, channeling my inner Grandpa Simpson...but he is not a fascist.
However he does have a problem with them.
He is not unique. The old Reform Party always had a certain percentage of supporters who had fascist tendencies. The were very much in favour of using the power of government to control everything from who you slept with to deciding what is art to only financially supporting the industries they favoured. They have always seemed comfortable in the Party and the Party really did not do a whole hell of alot to discourage them. The fact a very heavy white English Christian only thread ran through this crowd should surprise no one. When the Reform Party gobbled up the Progressive Party of Canada that wing of the party came along with it.
Stephen Harper knew this when he took over the Party as its first leader and he was at least adept at keeping them at bay. Let's be honest though, he made promises to them and then broke them as soon as he won government. Of course, when Stephen Harper was the leader we did not have social media and that wing of the party was much smaller and much less radicalized. Oh yes, Stephen Harper also did not have the Peoples Party of Canada stalking him on his right flank. It should be noted that Mr. Harper's betrayal of the more far right members of his base laid the groundwork for the creation of the PPC. His short term strategy to stay in power had longer term consequences for the party he left behind.
So Pierre Poilievre would not be able to do what Stephen Harper did even if he had the political smarts to do it. So now he has to deal with an ever radicalized and loud group on his right flank while also trying to convince more moderate Canadians that they are not what the CPC really represents.
That goal was complicated by the Convoy (you know what I am talking about). That event laid bare for everybody to see that there was an element of our society that does not believe in Canadian democracy. They parrot democratic rhetoric but that is only to cover up their fascist tendencies. It is to his ever lasting discredit that Mr. Poilievre rode the publicity generated by them and actively courted their support to win the leadership of the CPC. They have been a millstone around this neck ever since he won. Watching him trying to keep them in the CPC tent while also trying to entice more moderate Canadians to his side has been fun to watch, since he is failing at both to a certain extent.
What Pierre Poilievre might really need to do is to completely cut ties with this wing of his party. Doing so will certainly be a gift to the PPC but what he loses on the right might help him gain support in the centre, particularly as the Liberal government gets longer in the tooth. If he had any political instincts at all he would be working towards that.
That brings us to the dinner where an avowed fascist, representing an avowed fascist party in the European Parliament, was the guest of honour and where four members of the CPC were attendees of the dinner. One of those Members is a person who ran for the leadership of the party, twice, is a senior member of the shadow cabinet and who would probably be a senior cabinet minister if the CPC wins government. Some are saying that they did now know who the MEP was but she attended that dinner in Alberta so all of these MPs would have had to travel to attend it. All of that would be on the government dime which means the trips would have had to be planned. No MP is going to go through that effort unless they know exactly why they are doing it. So their protestations are bullshit. They attended this dinner because they agreed with the views of the MEP and thought it would be worthwhile to listen to her and meet her. To most Canadians this is unacceptable and it will further remind them of their unease with the CPC as being a home for Canadians with extreme right wing views, something that has haunted the CPC since its creation.
However this event might also be a perfect opportunity to break with that wing of the CPC, if Mr. Poilievre had the political acumen and guts to take it. By removing all of these MPs from caucus and forcefully denouncing the views of the MEP he would create a sea change in the CPC and he would set up a shift of the Party to a more moderate conservative party. It could be that what he loses on his right he would regain in the centre.
Then again maybe not. It could be that the whole of the conservative movement in this country has grown more radicalized and the number of Conservative voters who would desert the party would be much higher than I am assuming.
I am not certain at this point but I suspect that the CPC rank and file has grown more radicalized. I believe that "moderate" conservatives are a dying breed and that breaking with the really radical elements of the party would cost votes that could not be recovered from moderates.
In which case we can repeat that Pierre Poilievre really does have a NAZI problem.
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