Populism is here to stay

So says none other than Stephen Harper in an op-ed piece in yesterday's Globe and Mail.

I do not totally disagree with this assertion but I do not believe that it will have as much of an impact on our political system as some believe.  Many believe the recent success of some populist politicians in Canada is a harbinger of their takeover of the political system.  This belief is based on a very superficial analyses of these successes and if you look a little deeper into them you will find that maybe other factors than just populism lead to their success.

The other assumption of Mr. Harper is he seems to believe that right-wing populism is the only kind around.  The problem with that assertion is right-wing populist politicians are just spouting more of the same conservative dogma that we have been seeing from the Canadian political establishment for the last 30 or so years.  They are just being more in-your-face about it.  Those policies have failed to improve the lives of Canadians.  In fact, they have made them worse off and the political establishment knows this.  That is why they are doubling down on them while attempting to distract people with debates about niqabs, immigrants, asylum seekers and terrorists.  The time of the conservative consensus in Canada is coming to a close and they know it and are terrified by that fact.

It is only a matter to time before some left-wing populist begins to take advantage of this situation.  It may take another few years but the swing of the pendulum back to the left will begin in a relatively short period of time.

So Mr. Harper may be correct but it will probably not play out as he currently assumes.