The North American Right

“All politics is local”

Former U.S. House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill

Regardless of the issue, politicians must always focus their efforts on the voter’s actual needs and not get derailed by their own ideological aspirations.

Many of us who have a global perspective because of our work or personal interests have very different priorities from those whose lives revolve around their community and local issues.

This is especially true come national elections, where leaders must almost always reduce their political discourse and ensure that their speeches are focused on priorities that are meaningful to the majority … also known as kitchen table issues. They must always remember that if everything is a priority, nothing is really a priority.

Americans go to the polls this coming November, and Canadians before October of next year.

In both countries, the parties on the right seem poised to win.

The liberal parties in both countries are divided between those on the extreme left who constantly pressure their leadership to embrace the politics of “wokeism” and those at the center who crave moderate policies and programs.

In Canada, the ruling Liberal Party has swung precipitously to the left and is beset by a sense of voter fatigue both with policies, economic mismanagement, and with the scandals that erupt on a regular basis.

Many voters also do not agree with the extent to which social engineering has taken place in Canada.

When I went to the men’s room in the Canadian Embassy in Madrid recently, I was shocked to see a full array of women’s sanitary products on the counter. This is true in every men’s room in every federal building across Canada and abroad.

It is one thing to respect and protect LGBTQ rights across Canada. But for many voters, this is going from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Prime Minister Trudeau has proven ineffectual in dealing with the various crises that have plagued his government and with the corruption cases that have occurred during his years in office.

The latest example of lack of proper governance has been sending a Canadian frigate to Havana mark the relationship between Canada and Cuba the same week that the Russian fleet was in port.

His Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie was asked by a journalist why this had occurred, and she replied that she wasn’t aware of the visit!

Ignorance, incompetence, or mendacity. You choose.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party leads the ruling Liberals by 20 points, has promised to reverse many of the Liberal government’s social policies and revert to simpler values and common-sense policies.

His pre-electoral platform to date is to put more money in the pockets of Canadians. It is resonating in a country where affordable housing is unbearably high, where taxes and government spending is bordering on the irresponsible, where Canadians perceive that their interests are not being looked after by the government, and where there is voter fatigue with Trudeau.

Trump is using many of the same tactics as Poilievre.

Although the U.S. economy is strong, the average American still feels the impact of post-Covid inflation and doesn’t believe that they are better off than before.

Indeed, two weeks ago I watched an interview on CNN with a group of black women entrepreneurs in Atlanta. Asked for whom they were voting, they answered, much to my surprise, either Trump or a third-party candidate.

They all said that their businesses had thrived under Trump, while they barely tread water now.

This despite the ninety-one indictments against Trump, thirty-four of which have returned with a guilty verdict, a guilty verdict in a civil court on a rape charge, and the dozens of other serious missteps he has made throughout his life.

Canadian Conservative candidate Poilievre has thus far refused to undergo a security check – essential for members of parliament to enjoy access to classified intelligence material. He also has never held a job outside of politics, making him a member of the elite that he constantly paints as evil. That said, the current state of the country under Trudeau who did have outside job experience makes one wonder how important this experience is.

Both leaders are ahead in the polls because of their focus on the economy and their commitments to resolve the economic problems of their voters.

Readers should note, however, that neither Poilievre nor Trump has yet put forth how they would lower housing prices or provide better health care services, improve education opportunities for those who can’t afford private education for their children. In the case of Trump, he has also not said how he would deal with such social issues as women’s rights including the abortion issue, and the application of human rights benefits across the board for all citizens.

Both leaders do prove a major lesson in politics: do not ignore the perceptions of the average voter nor their concerns.

The average voter in both countries wants an economy that affects their pocketbooks positively.

And they worry much more about the microeconomic impact of the economic situation (i.e. how it affects their pocketbooks) rather than macroeconomic results that look good but don’t trickle down fast enough to impact their lives.

They want to avoid catering to extremes on both sides of the political spectrum.

And they want but don’t have a centrist option that reflects their views.

Trump and Poilievre cater to the extreme right while Biden and Trudeau seem to cater to the extreme left of this party.

With no viable centrist candidate available either in Canada or in the United States, voters in both countries will either hold their noses to vote for either alternative or stay at home and take their chances.

Whatever the reasons for each voter’s decision, it is apparent to me that those who read the voters’ minds will win.

And this could lead both North American countries to veer to the right.