Since 2006, it's been a familiar siren song from the left to Canadians, trying to lure voters away from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party:
"Harper is destroying Canada's global reputation. And we -- the Liberal Party, NDP, or whomever else -- are the ones to restore it. Please vote for us."
Harper has now been in power for more than five years. And these complaints about the effect Stephen Harper's tenure in 24 Sussex Drive have turned out to be nothing more than pure, unmitigated bullshit.
In a study that measured the public esteem, trust, admiration and good feelings toward 50 countries, Canada came out on top. Number one. The best country in the world in terms of its global reputation. The survey was run by the Reputation Institute.
Canada is regarded better than Sweden, Australia, Switzerland, or New Zealand. Most of these countries have had leaders far more of the sort preferred by those citing imaginary harm done by Harper to Canada's reputation.
No one should expect many of these people to wake up and smell the global rejection of this narrative. Some of them just don't get it at all.
No one should be surprised. These are people who prefer to smirk about a preachy lecture delivered to Harper regarding the Kyoto protocols by countries who stood to be fiscal beneficiaries of the treaty at the World Economic Forum in Davos to the standing ovation he received at the same event.
These are people who focus on the handful of far-left whackos protesting the oilsands over the countries and businesses lining up to be oilsands' customers, and the millions of people who consume oilsands oil.
What's the deal with Canada's reputation? Canada's reputation is excellent. Five years of Stephen Harper hasn't done the kind of harm the far-left has bemoaned at every opportunity.
This revelation actually changes nothing: the far-left will still continue to make this claim, and Canadians will continue to do the appropriate thing: and ignore them.
I'm not far left, Just poor. I'm worse off than my parents and my kids are worse off than me. Maybe the reputation thing is just internal whining by people like me, who have seen their earning power be steadily eroded (mostly by the Liberals). Do I ride a bicycle because I'm an oil-sands hating leftist? No, I ride a bicycle because I'm too poor to afford a car. Some environmentalist I am, eh? There's lots more like me. I don't hate Harper because he's Conservative, I hate Harper because he is a Communist. This government is intent on spending us into oblivion by putting as many (poor) people in jail as possible. And they refuse to tell taxpayers how much this is all going to cost us. Conservatism? Nyet.
ReplyDeleteAnd we're better looking. And smarter.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Huh. David, I'm sorry to hear you can't afford a car. But that's not Stephen Harper's fault.
ReplyDeleteI also can't help but feel amused by people who don't get that some criminals just belong in jail. The omnibus legislation will help make sure that they get there. That's a good thing (but not for them).