The Silent Majority

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The Silent Majority

“The closer the collapse of an empire, the crazier its laws”

Cicero

The late President Richard Nixon is known, among other things, for using the term “silent majority” to label those voters who had not been seduced by the sexual revolution or the anti-war movements of the sixties.

Specifically, he used this term to describe those who rejected the Democrat Party’s shift to the extreme left and, as a result moved the pendulum of American politics from the progressive policies of President Franklin Roosevelt to the conservatism of Barry Goldwater that culminated with Ronald Reagan´s presidency in the 1980’s.

The rabid conservatism of Republican candidate Barry Goldwater that saw him swept away in the 1964 presidential election by Lyndon Johnson’s Democrats but became mainstream under Reagan.

And the mainstreaming of once radical parties is becoming reality in 2024.

In France, the once considered radical RN party of Marine LePen is now considered a shoo-in for the legislative elections scheduled for later this month.

If her party succeeds in providing a government that addresses the needs of a majority of voters, she could win the presidential election in 2027. This would provide her with the power to exit from the EU and expel large numbers of Muslim residents as she seems to indicate in her speeches.

It’s worth remembering that while Macron has his fans abroad, his disapproval ratings back home are hovering around 70%, as voters bristle at pension reforms, crime, living costs, massive Olympic spending, and beyond. It appears that the silent majority in France is speaking, as it has in Belgium and, polls show, in Germany.

With the Republican Party throwing its weight behind Mme. LePen’s party, what once was a radical fringe right-wing party is now becoming a mainstream option for French voters fed up with the European model that reduces national interests and sovereignty and creates a cookie cutter approach to policies in a multicultural European Union composed of dozens of nationalities and different levels of public enthusiasm.

The French left is trying to put together a National Front opposition to the   right. However, in their first massive public demonstration in Paris last weekend there were many Palestinian and Hamas flags but not one French one. This will not play well with the majority of French voters.

Remember the power of Madeleine Lebeau singing La Marseillaise in “Casablanca”. The impact of national symbols runs deep in the French psyche, and the left should remember  this in the design of their campaigns.

The EU’s immigration policies go against the instincts of many Europeans, especially the French, whose Muslim population is significant and whose radicalisation is broad and deep.

Moreover, the EU’s common agriculture policy has raised the ire of French farmers whose mass demonstrations are also galvanizing voters.

Senior leaders in Moscow have mocked President Macron and German Chancellor Scholz for their EU election results, claiming the numbers reflect opposition to Europe’s support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion. 

President Macron attended the G7 last week and was royally snubbed by Italian Prime minister Meloni, a darling of the right. Her populist party of Italy’s leader, Brothers of Italy, had just won the most European Parliament votes in Italy. 

In Canada, the silent majority is fed up with the Trudeau government and its pandering to the extreme left. Its constant veering from one corruption scandal to another and its gross mismanagement of the economy have driven voters into the arms of their opposition Conservatives.

Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre has listened to the silent majority who are against the social engineering carried out by the Liberal government and its New Democratic Party partner and he is leading by 20 points in the latest polls.

Indeed, Mr. Poilievre caters to the right wing of his party on social issues, but he is also reading the frustration of voters concerning high housing costs, inflation, taxes, public services that don’t deliver, government corruption, and lack of action on foreign election interference.

In the United States, we have two octogenerian candidates each appealing to the most extreme wings of their parties with no one at the center to offer voters a viable option.

There, the silent majority has little option but to stay at home or hold their noses while they vote for the lesser of two unpopular alternatives.

The United Kingdom also heads to the polls in July.

Tha Labor Party, once perceived as an antisemitic radical left wing party under former leader Jeremy Corbyn, now appears to have been rehabilitated.

It has not given up its radical policies but, rather, has gained some support because of voter fatigue with a Conservative government that has not met expectations.

It remains to be seen if the silent majority in the UK wil, support Labour, or vote against its strong support for Islamic immigration and the perceived Islamization of British society.

The one surprise in the UK campaign is the rapid rise of the Reform Party of Nigel Farange. Although he has never been one I supported in the past, his common sense manifesto is likely to appeal to many voters who dislike both traditional leaders.

So, where does this leave politics in the 21st century?

I think that we are past left-wing right-wing distinctions since many voters seek some policies of the “left” and some of the “right” in an attempt to protect personal freedoms, culture and safety while allowing for an economic platform that ensures good education and health services.

As Cicero once said, the closer the collapse of an empire, the crazier its laws.

As I have reported in a previous article, the decision to place female hygiene products in all men’s rooms in federal buildings is a demonstration of moving from the sublime to the ridiculous.

And it is precisely the ridiculous laws that the Trudeau government in Canada is passing that is leading the world to ridicule his leadership and Canadians to turn massively towards the opposition.

What most voters seek beyond outdated ideologies is common sense.

To obtain or to stay is power, leaders had better be more sensitive to the silent majority and formulate policies that meet the needs of the majority of voters and not cater to the fringes that demand esoteric programs that seem ludicrous to the majority.

Leaders must realize that macroeconomic results do not necessarily jive with the microeconomic challenges facing most voters.

Leaders must discern reality from fiction and temper their vision with common sense.

Do minorities have a place?

Indeed they do. They can rally public opinion to their cause and use the democratic process to promote and achieve consensus.

But not at the expense of the majority and of common sense.

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