Something has gone profoundly wrong with the country Winston Churchill once called ‘the linchpin of the English-speaking peoples,’ reports Robert Fisk
Faithful ally of Britain in two world wars, peacekeeper to the world, Nato member but neutral across the globe, it’s difficult to believe that Canada’s democracy might have come adrift.
But the last weeks of election campaigning by Stephen Harper’s ruling Conservative party – with its dark, racist overtones and anti-Muslim rhetoric – suggest that something has gone profoundly wrong with the nation which Winston Churchill once called “the linchpin of the English-speaking peoples”.
The Canadian Prime Minister’s avowedly anti-Muslim, pro-Israeli statements and his Immigration Minister’s insistence that Canadians should “keep an eye” on their neighbours has prompted voters to question what sort of country their children will inherit after the 19 October election.
Opinion polls – as fickle in Canada as they are in Europe – appear to favour a Harper victory over Thomas Mulcair’s New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Liberals of Justin – son of Prime Minister Pierre – Trudeau, although the Conservatives may end up leading a minority government whose right-wing ambitions could be blunted by the opposition. Yet, observing the election campaign in Canada over the past two weeks, it is impossible not to be struck by the near insanity of the debates which will define the country for the next four years.
Categories: Americas, Anti-Islam Campaign, Canada, Politics