Well, it is nearly one
week into the Federal Election campaign and the start was less than auspicious
for the Liberals given that a campaign bus damaged the official plane on day
one. I was surprised that no pundit
noted that it seemed like the left wing of
the plane carrying Canada’s self-styled champions of progressive thought was damaged. But then, media observers were
probably too entranced by the plethora of slogans and ads which had
already started to crescendo a few days before the call. Yet, the slogans were for the most part
predictable and really rather bland. The
general blandness of indeed the entire election, is coming during a time when
Canada’s position in the world is under severe stress and change. How a country with an export to GDP ratio of 30 percent can continue to prosper in a world of tariffs and trade wars is a pressing question. One was
expecting more.
The campaign slogans
are remarkably interchangeable. The
federal Liberals are asking us to “Choose Forward” which I am sure means other
parties are a backwards choice rather than an exhortation to engage in time
travel or perhaps go to an advance poll.
The federal Conservatives are telling us that “It’s time for you to get
ahead” which again is a call to vote Conservative as a way of doing materially
better rather than proceed to the front of a checkout line or perhaps take
early action in setting your clocks back for the fall.
Keeping to the theme
of moving forward and ahead, both the Liberals and Conservatives are facing the
Green Party with their “Not Left. Not right. Forward Together” which suggests rival
parties are directionally challenged when it comes to deciding where
to go. And of course, there are the New
Democrats who want us to know that they are “In it for You” which is a comment
on the other parties being focused on themselves rather than a call to attract
more candidates of which they are still woefully short. And who can forget the People’s Party of
Canada who are simply “Strong and Free” but based on their polling numbers are
not strong and probably do not wish to apply the concept of free to immigration.
These are of course
only slogans designed to highlight differences and send subliminal
messages. The Liberals are suggesting
that choosing anybody other than them is a step backwards especially when it
comes to their much-vaunted promotion of growing the middle class. I suppose this is a more charitable
interpretation of their message than a more strident “We always know what is best for you” or “We
are going to help the middle class whether you like how we do it or not.”
Meanwhile the Conservatives, seem to be telling
us if you want to be middle class, the best way to get ahead is to support them
which is probably a more prudent line than “We want to help you help yourself
get more”. As for the New Democrats,
well they are middle class boosters too but want to explicitly let you know
they are in it for you if you vote for them with the policy prescription being there is no problem that cannot be fixed with more government spending - even if not
necessary or counterproductive. Here, the more accurate reality might be a reverse Walmart ad like “Spend more, Get Less”.
In the end, these official
slogans are all interchangeable and designed to sell a message that if stated
more bluntly would probably not be seen as a good idea by the in-house
advisors. It would be a fun party game
to see how many permutations and combinations can emerge by combining and
rearranging these words. How about, “Not
left, Not right, but forward and backwards” or “Forward for a Strong and Free You” or “Time to choose
forward to get ahead together while strong and free and realizing what’s in it for
you.” We are truly in a pickle this
fall but unless we demand better from our politicians, we will not get anything
better. It can start with better slogans
but a better policy debate would be even more useful.
