Canada: what's behind the Liberals' victory?
Canada's governing Liberal Party is the clear winner of Monday's federal election. Prime Minister Mark Carney's party overtook the Conservatives, securing an estimated 169 seats in parliament and falling just short of an absolute majority. Carney stressed his intention of strengthening his country's ties with "reliable allies" such as Europe. Commentators focus on the voters' motives.
Stability suddenly more important than change
Trump's threats have changed Canadians' priorities, Newsweek Polska suspects:
“Anger proved to be excellent fuel not only for Canadian nationalism, but also for the Liberal Party's election campaign. It was mainly thanks to Trump that the problems that forced Trudeau to resign - astronomic property prices, rising living costs, dissatisfaction with excessive immigration - took a back seat. Canadians no longer wanted radical change: the promise of stability became more alluring.”
An experienced captain in stormy waters
Carney scored points with voters also thanks to his undisputed economic expertise, Neue Zürcher Zeitung concludes:
“In other times, the technocrat and uninspiring speaker Carney would probably have had a hard time in the election campaign. But now his expertise in financial and economic issues has become a big trump card. As the former head of both the Canadian and British central banks and with his experience in the private banking sector, to many Canadians Carney seemed the best captain to lead Canada through the looming conflict with the US. All the more so given that he has also proven himself as a successful crisis manager in the past.”
Conservatives received the kiss of death
Corriere della Sera takes a closer look at the losers of the election:
“Trump's behaviour has polarised and radicalised the political confrontation. ... But it also leaves growing space for those who still believe in free trade and globalisation as opportunities for prosperity, and promote liberal democracies as better systems. ... In these days of rampant populism this had seemed like a lost cause. Now a clarion is sounding from Canada. It is no coincidence that Carney's victory came at the expense of the Conservative Party, which tried to paraphrase Trump's sovereignist slogan with a 'Canada first' one. ... The Conservatives have paid the price for the American president's kiss of death, which branded them in the eyes of Canadians as a foreign power's Trojan horse.”
Left-liberal aberrations ending
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung stresses:
“The Liberals' victory is not a confirmation of the left-liberal 'woke' agenda with which his predecessor Justin Trudeau failed. Carney campaigned for limiting migration and his first official act was to abolish the carbon tax. This was also a biographical break, as Carney, like so many members of the Western elite, was once a staunch climate protector. Trump is provoking resistance in many countries with his confrontational foreign and trade policy. But this should not be interpreted as a surge of approval for the misguided identity and migration policies of recent years, which have also destroyed the social consensus in Germany. That era is finally over.”
Good news for democratic Europe
European-Canadian ties are likely to deepen, Der Standard predicts:
“Carney's victory and that of the Canadian Liberals is certainly good news for Europe's democratic parties. In the search for new alliances and allies, the 'most European American country' is an obvious choice. The Canadian-European alliance will remain intact and can continue to develop on the world stage. As a Nato member, Canada is now prepared to play a key role in supporting Ukraine. Promoting economic rapprochement, including a free-trade agreement, is also central to both sides.”
Defiance comes at a price
For The Times it's clear that Canada cannot afford a lengthy confrontation with the US:
“Of course, when the sound and fury abates, Mr Carney must still do business with the 800-pound gorilla. Full divorce is simply not possible. After a decade of Liberal stagnation, Canada's per capita GDP, once within hailing distance of America's, now trails distantly in its slipstream. A protracted trade war threatens extended hardship for Canadians, only partly ameliorated by Mr Carney's worrying desire to swell the national debt with more borrowing. Defiance comes at a price.”