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by John Clarke, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty After fifteen years of Liberal Governments in Ontario, the Conservatives are back in power. The Liberal Party, ever the political chameleon, delivered a brand of austerity by stealth in progressive packaging. Now, however, the newly enthroned Tories will dispense with such pretensions and intensify the attack dramatically. In March of this year, the Ontario Tories, still in opposition, went through a leadership race that saw the Party Establishment lose out to maverick right wing populist, Doug Ford. Ford is a Toronto multimillionaire and former City Councillor whose deceased brother, Rob, made international headlines for his extraordinary behaviour while Mayor of the City. Comparisons abounded between Doug Ford and Donald Trump by no means without justification. Both are bigoted right wing rich men who make entirely groundless claims to speak for ordinary people. Both are attack dogs for the most ruthless and reckless elements within the ruling class. Outside of the suburban Toronto district he lives in and a quirky support base in the Tory Party, however, Ford’s populist following is probably less significant than that of Trump. *June Election Campaign* As the campaign for the June 7 Ontario Election unfolded, it was abundantly clear that the Liberals were a spent force. That they would be decimated was a foregone conclusion. The social democratic New Democratic Party (NDP), starting in third place, had consistently failed to offer a political alternative clearly to the left of the Liberals. No Corbyn like move to the left or rejuvenation of the Party base had occurred. Nonetheless, with the Liberals in trouble and a right wing Tory Party moving towards victory, the NDP leadership made a political calculation to move left. Several candidates with serious social activist backgrounds set a different stamp on the campaign. It was too little too late but the NDP doubled its number of seats in the Legislature and had the Ford Tories worried for a period. The Liberals were obliterated and reduced to a mere six seats that fail to qualify them for official party status. Ford won with a campaign that offered few details of his intentions and set of stock phrases drawn from the populist song book." *Read entire article:* https://oaklandsocialist.com/2018/08/05/right-wing-austerity-comes-to-ontario/ -- *“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black Jacobins" by C. L. R. James Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
