— Feature, Musings —12.27.2024 10:47 AM
My latest: 2024’s political winners
For many politicians and political parties, 2024 was a horrible, awful, nasty, no-good year.
Incumbent politicians and political parties, that is. The year 2024 was the worst year ever – ever – for incumbents, the political scientists tell us. Either they all lost ground, or they plain old lost. It was nasty, brutish and (sometimes) short-sighted.
The reasons are myriad and multiple, as they always are. But topping the list are the surging cost of living, and the surging numbers of migrants. Both issues made voters cranky, everywhere. (Elites, too. Voters got really mad at the elites.)
All of this was very good news for politicians or a political parties challenging incumbents. All they needed to do is maintain a pulse, most of the time, and they’d win.
That’s the big caveat attached to this year’s “winners” list. They may be political winners, but – in many cases – they didn’t actually earn it. They just had to show up and be the anti-incumbent.
1. Pierre Poilievre: Poll after poll show the Conservative Party dramatically ahead of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. Interestingly, poll after poll also showed more voter enthusiasm for the Conservative Party than for the Conservative Party’s leader. That may be because voters don’t really know Poilievre, yet. Or, it maybe they do, and they find the Mr. Angry stuff wearying. It doesn’t really matter, however: at this point, Poilievre is going to win the biggest majority in event Canadian history. Which makes him a big winner.
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I can get behind the state of Israel, Doug Ford and Donald J Trump being winners. Love em or hate them Ford and Trump have the credentials and the spirit of Israel stands tall – All three have won something.
I’m holding judgement on Pollievre I really truly want him to be a winner but to date he’s been the beneficiary of poor polling for Trudeau. I sense that same victory but like the Leafs, the winner’s name is not engraved on any trophy till the win is in the books.
Freeland ? This is the ultimate show me. I don’t pretend to know a lot about how to record a win as a federal liberal in 2024 but this Guy Fawkes attempt to blow up the party as a disgruntled subordinate? It’s my opinion She has committed a literary assassination – nothing more.
The Liberal movement in Canada will need to implode to improve. Freeland is as good an example as any of members of the cult of personality that has enabled this leader to remain in power. Her victory may be that she successfully merges with the NDP but with that I also feel that enough “blue” liberals will break to conservatives if liberal party is under Freeland.
Let’s wait and see – maybe I’m dead wrong but her excited base reminds me of the democratic cat ladies at present.
Disagree on Pierre. The fact people haven’t and don’t understand that is literally one of the reasons he is doing so well and will continue to do so. Hopefully folks continue to underestimate him.
Joly and Leblanc perhaps think they are saving Canada with their silly “meetings” at Mar-a-Lago. In fact, what they are doing is eliminating themselves from Canadian politics for the next 20-30 years and perhaps future employment all together. Everyone knows their government is finished. Their family knows it. Their staff knows it. Their drivers and security details know it. Their pets know it and so do their pets’ veterinarians. The lawn gnomes and garden fairies at 24 Sussex gave up several years ago.
Putting up a spirited fight against reality is only further harming the brand and putting a permanent stain their own reputation.