Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is an example of how a leader who has enjoyed much popularity can lose the people’s support, and also that of party colleagues. It happens when a politician begins to depend too much on fringe groups to obtain that extra winning edge and ignores the mainstream. Like President Biden in the US, ‘woke’ liberalism has led to Trudeau’s downfall. Identity politics, the reason why he associated with Khalistani nutcases, prevented him from seeing what Canadians as a people wanted. This comes from being distanced from ground reality and being trapped in an echo-chamber. Fortunately for Canada, the probable leader of the future, Pierre Poilievre, will be a more moderate politician than is Biden’s alternative in the US – Donald Trump.
Being contemptuous of the person on the street is a trap for politicians, whether one considers them ‘deplorables’ as did Hillary Clinton, or privileged castes, as do politicians in India looking for the vote on the margins. It is important for the practicing politician to realise, as Ronald Reagan said, “It’s all about the economy.”
It is rare for a leader to be voted out when the nation or state is doing well on the economic front. Identity politics does not help if those who bear the responsibility of funding the system are demoralised. People like to see the taxes they pay being used in a positive manner. If the taxpayers are too few to influence policy, that is the first indicator of an unhealthy economy. The growing freebie culture in India, for instance, shows that there are more ‘takers’ than there are ‘givers’. That is not a good sign for those who desire politics to go in the right direction. Trudeau ignored the decline in the GDP, the problems being faced by people due to the housing crisis, unusual inflation, extremist activity and, when there were protests, behaved like any fascist would in power. These are the usual shortcomings of an entitled leader from a nepotistic background.
The good thing about the Trudeau situation is that his party, like others in Canada, functions democratically – he was asked to quit, and he has. This is very difficult in the dynastic setups in India, where repeated failure is condoned, and possible alternatives are denied space. It is no surprise, therefore, that the people’s voice is seldom heard and when the election results are declared, there is surprise and shock all around.
