By Philip Yeung
An unreliable political virgin
Politically, Mark Carney is a virgin. As 28 April approaches, he is losing his political virginity as Canadians go to the polls. On paper, political virgins are preferable to political prostitutes, but there is a catch. They are untested rookies who may not be down-to-earth enough for the job.
Being an anti-Trumper is not enough
Canadians are sick and tired of Trudeau's bumbling and costly ideological posturing. They bemoan the lost decade, itching to toss the Liberals into the dustbin of history. Then came the Trump typhoon. Suddenly, the fight is about who is toughest on Trump. This is a dangerous distraction. Yes, Canadians need a leader who can outmaneuver Trump. But they also want someone who can run a country on common sense. Is Carney that leader? He seems hell-bent on jumping on the bandwagon to victory as an opportunistic anti-Trumper.
This self-appointed Canadian savior has feet of clay
Carney scored a slam-dunk when he cancelled the hated carbon tax, the Liberals' Achilles heel, which has given the PC leader his catchy slogan: "Axe the tax". By rescinding the unpopular consumer tax, Carney has knocked the wind out of the PC's sails. But that alone does not qualify him as the un-Trudeau savior that Canada is praying for. This "savior", it turns out, has feet of clay.
Carney fails the China test
On at least one crucial issue, he lacks the geopolitical smarts. He has refused to repudiate Trudeau's toxic and misguided China policy. The bilateral relationship was torpedoed by Trudeau when he kowtowed to Trump by arresting Huawei's CFO at the behest of the US bully.
Not only that, Carney has foolishly doubled down on the anti-China hostility. Asked by reporters what he considered the greatest security threat to Canada, he gave a knee-jerk reply that tells me he is the wrong man for the job. He pointed his finger at China, rehashing the brain-dead liberal bias against a peaceful China on the rise. By failing to see through the "China threat" as an American hoax, he does not wake up to the dirty truth that the world has been sold a big lie about China. Like a dogmatic, hard-left liberal, Carney hungrily licks up the US propaganda vomit. But where is the evidence that China is the real threat to Canadian security? Politically? Economically? Militarily? It is none of the above. China's only saber-rattling occurs over Taiwan, the island recognized internationally as an integral part of China. It is therefore a domestic quarrel, not an act of foreign aggression.
China is not Russia - it has no territorial ambitions
China is not Russia. Devoid of territorial ambitions, China is only interested in defending its territorial integrity. How can a country that has lifted 800 million people out of poverty be a pariah? As an economist, he has given China no credit for its enormous economic achievements. As an economist, Carney pays lip service to free trade. There is no justification for keeping Trudeau's 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. Unable to think outside the liberal orthodoxy, he has opted to go for the cheap political brownie points that come with echoing the anti-China dog whistle. He does not make the cut as an international leader.
An ideological conformist handcuffed by bad liberal habits
Guilty of radical environmentalism, he has let it run amok. He is too much of an ideological conformist to be an independent thinker, handcuffed by the bad liberal habit of government by slogans. He is too trendy to be trustworthy.
A perfect resume, imperfect policies
Carney boasts a perfect resume, having scholarshipped his way into Oxford and Harvard. As governor of the Bank of England and of Canada, he wears the halo of a Davos elitist, brandishing a gold-plated pedigree. But that's what worries me. Far removed from the misery of the vulgar masses, he has no idea about the price of milk or eggs. As a close advisor to Trudeau and chair of the Liberal Party's task force on economic growth, he is saddled with a lion's share of the blame for the economic mess that Canada is wallowing in. In the UK, where he was the first non-Briton to hold the post of Governor of the Bank of England, he earned the unforgettable nickname of "the unreliable boyfriend" who keeps changing his mind about interest rates, leaving behind a mess for his successor to clean up.
As a top banker, he is politically blind. Even Bill Gates can see and say that China's rise is a huge win for the world.
Carney's judgment against China is too flippant. China is only an afterthought to him. He can't see China past malicious US slogans. He fails to see that Canada's bilateral wound with China is self-inflicted. His banker's mentality is indifferent to the truth that China's only sin is in becoming a global challenge to the US. But that is none of Canada's business.
Befriending China strengthens Canada's hand in fighting Trump
At a time when Canadian sovereignty and economy come under brutal assault by Trump, Carney still chooses to play the "China blame game". Instead, he should be using China, the world's second-largest economy, as a bargaining chip in going toe-to-toe with the US. The anti-China venom must be detoxified. Failure to do so risks turning Canada into "Argentina at - 40 degrees". Perhaps, Carney should stick to banking and not dip his toe into politics. He is too one-dimensional for the complexity of geopolitics. He has been unflatteringly likened to another liberal Harvard elitist, Michael Ignatieff, who has been dubbed "the thinking woman's crumpet". Carney is an unloved technocrat. He has the right resume, but the wrong policies.
Crucially, Carney has failed the China test - a thinking man's test for political pragmatism. He is wearing ideological blinkers, seeing China through the lens of American propaganda. Antagonizing China, unprovoked, is an ignoble act unworthy of Canada's tolerant multicultural values.
China is not your enemy - Canada won't become China's 35th province
Wake up and smell the coffee, Mr. Carney. China is not your enemy. It has no quarrel with Canada and its people. At least Canada doesn't have to worry about being changed into China's 35th province. China is not a dirty word. Trumpian America is. That's where your existential threat lies. If you are too blind to see this simple truth, you don't belong in Canada's future.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Philip Yeung:
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