consortiumnews.com: Canada's New Bush-Style Politics

[tuvor]

As an American journalist visiting my wife’s relatives in Canada, I’ve always been struck by how ardently the country’s political discourse focused on substance – the budget, health care, schools, roads – with little of the cheap theatrics and angry divisiveness of U.S. politics and punditry.

Reading and listening to the Canadian news media during those family trips could be a tad boring, but it also was touching, like remembering your earnest grade-school civics teacher lecturing about the wonders of the American democratic process.

But in my visit this past summer, I noticed that the tone of Canada suddenly had changed. There was a nastier edge to the commentary. There were not so subtle appeals to racism and xenophobia, references to Muslim neighborhoods in Quebec as “Quebecistan” and to Lebanese-Canadians as “Hezbocrats,” a play on the Muslim group Hezbollah.

To someone who has covered U.S. politics for three decades, there was a shock of recognition. Standing out starkly against the bland traditions of Canadian governance was the pugnacious ‘tude of American political combat, wedge issues pounded in with a zeal that put the goal of winning and holding power over everything else.

http://consortiumnews.com/2006/101306c.html

(Found it via BartCop.)

[Bragi]

1. An excellent article...

He writes...

...the larger question remains whether Harper will succeed in transforming Canada into a more belligerent and bellicose nation, much as Bush has done in the United States.

Yes indeed, sad but true.

- B

[glarius]

2. If only Canadians knew the story of Harper in totality!

The only thing left out of the article was the bit about Harper going on FoxTV and apologizing for Canada not joining the attack on Iraq, when he was in opposition in parliament. I am absolutely certain that he and his mob would be swept out of office at the next election, if all these facts were known to the average Canadian!