If Erin O'Toole had been elected in 2021, we probably wouldn't have seen this. But we all rejected the actual progressive conservative because he had a slightly different plan and so now we're going to get the pandering populist we deserve. I was listening to Nate Erskine-Smith's interview with Erin O'Toole. I am convinced he's the best PM we never had. What a genuinely decent and honourable man.
Also something that strikes me about the current, "Burn it all down" mindset that was alluded to in that interview. I think a large part of it is because our institutions have failed people and those people are tired of listening to politicians insist it's all fine. I think the Liberals would actually go up in the polls, if they actually admitted that the housing situation is terrible and that they made mistakes. Instead, every year they come out and try to gaslight the public by arguing it's getting better, when it's not. So now they have zero credibility on this file. It's the same across so many domains. If we want people to reject populism and trust institutions, those institutions have to deliver and not just talk past people's concerns.
