Speaking the fascist’s language: Pierre Poilievre’s perfidious rhetorical appeal for working class votes

 

Poilievre follows in a long right-wing tradition of intentionally appealing to the masses while actively working against them

Pierre Poilievre has risen to the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada by lauding himself as a defender of the average Canadian. This supposed protector of the country’s working and middle classes has, however, routinely antagonized them and opposed their interests. Emily Leedham writes that his “recent rhetoric pandering to workers contradicts his long track record of attacking unions and dividing workers.” Poilievre, Leedham explains, has an extensive history of anti-union activity, blind nationalism, and fomenting conspiracy theories. The contradiction between his words and his actions is certainly not a new phenomenon in politics, but some wonder whether it is new to Canada. In his article “Does Canada Have its Trump?” Joel Mathis notes how Poilievre voted against same-sex marriage in Canada, but later spoke in favour of it. Poilievre’s contradiction is nothing new, and may be less unintentional than it seems. There is a long history of antagonism between the words and actions of fascist politicians, both those of our time and of the 20th century. Although Poilievre is not a fascist himself, his rhetoric remains closely aligned with the fascistic tradition of appealing to working class sensibilities while starkly opposing policies in line with proletarian interests.

Many have compared Pierre Poilievre to Donald Trump, as both are nationalist populists who seem to have garnered their greatest support among the working classes of their respective countries. There is an ongoing debate about the specifics of Trump’s ideology, of course, but William E. Connolly chooses to call him a “neo-fascist who pursues hyper-aggressive nationalism.” Connolly goes on to describe Trump as a “practitioner of a rhetorical style that regularly smears opponents to sustain the Big Lies he advances.” It is safe to say that Poilievre is not as outrageous as Trump or as domineering in his rhetorical style; but Trump is not the quintessential fascist, especially as there is no consensus as to his fascist tendencies. The debate over Trump’s ideology continues today, with J.R. McNeill saying that it bears some similarity, but is not identical, to those of the 20th century’s fascists. The same can be said of Poilievre, whose rhetoric is surprisingly similar, though also different, from that of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

This may seem like a stretch, at first. However, to compare Poilievre to figures like Hitler and Mussolini and identify significant overlap in their rhetoric (and some of their policies) does not mean that they are the same. It does not mean, for example, that Poilievre intends to intern and impose genocide upon Canada’s Liberals, Indigenous peoples, and LGBTQ2S+ communities the way Hitler did to Europe’s Jews, communists, Roma, and others. But the similarities in their social and economic values, and in their rhetoric, certainly speaks to the character of the Conservative Party leader.  (more...)

Speaking the fascist’s language: Pierre Poilievre’s perfidious rhetorical appeal for working class votes