As days go by, the Harper revolution is floundering. With the setbacks it suffered earlier on, it is now the target of ordinary people who think that the PM is not responding to the financial meltdown. For sure, the neocons believe in their religion of neoliberalism, that the ‘invisible hand’ of the market will fix it. They are unable to see what’s happening around them. I suppose it’s good news.

Liberals are doing the same thing as the Conservatives by demolishing the adversary and the leader. Dion is also using the traditional argument, vote for me because otherwise, the Conservatives will squeeze in. It is a rational political argument, although it is bankrupt in substance, and directly related to a rotten political system.

I was struck to see the face of Justin Trudeau beside Dion in his latest BC visit. It reminded me that a few years back, in a meeting with apparently intelligent and progressive professors in international development (open to the world and sympathetic to Lula and Chavez), a nice lady approached me to say how excited she was that the ghost was back in the form of his son. I did not find anything to say but I was surprised. After all, Trudeau had as his principal mandate the ‘taming’ of Quebec’s social and national revolts. With his ridiculous panache and spins, he was touring the world behaving like a big fool while acting as a fundamental ally of the US. Why does this imbecile remain in the heart of this nice open-minded lady???!!!

It took me a long time to figure it out. Canadians are caught in this terrible distortion called Canadian nationalism. It becomes even harder when they get to the point of thinking that other nationalisms, from Quebec and the First Nations, are the ‘real enemy’. Trudeau captured that fear and became the hero. There is rarely something progressive in nationalism but when it gets ahold of the dominant nation, it becomes chauvinism and racism. Saying this does not mean that the ‘other’ nationalism of the underdogs is much better: it is not most of the time.

Back to our current miseries. Will Dion and this young fool Trudeau (not to mention the reactionaries a la Ignatieff and most of the Liberals who are really neoliberals) be part of the picture after next Tuesday as Stephen goes down and down? Canadians should be watchful. I am saying this, and then I think, oops, the immediate priority is still to block Stephen.

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Pierre Beaudet

Pierre was active in international solidarity and social movements in Quebec, and was the founder of Quebec NGO Alternatives, and Editor of the Nouveaux cahiers du socialisme. He blogged on rabble.ca in...