Ford Nation will fall with a bang not a whimper

Christopher Hume, The Toronto Star:

Indeed, just months into his term, cracks are already starting to appear in his support. Given the instability of populist movements like Ford Nation, when the structure finally does collapse, it will do so with a bang, not a whimper.

Though Rob and Doug have managed so far to avoid reality, their deep understanding of inner-suburban anger enables them make up for that. Their message, as monosyllabic as it is monotonous, is calibrated to resonate with supporters, who still like what they hear.

But when the elder Ford, Doug, Ward 2 councillor and Toronto’s unofficial chief magistrate, announced recently that he has no problem with the millions the city must pay cops because of its paid-duty provisions, eyebrows were raised throughout Ford Nation.

In the meantime, other public-sector unions are being told they have no future in Toronto, which will contract out their jobs as fast as the Fords can manage.

Now there’s also a growing chorus of awkward questions being asked about how the mayor financed his campaign last fall. Critics allege that Ford went over the legal spending limit, which also offended supporters who struggle week-by-week to get by.

If that wasn’t enough, there were Doug Ford’s ill-considered remarks about Waterfront Toronto, which he described as a “boondoggle.” The development community, which likes what the agency is doing so much it has invested something like $1.7 billion in the waterfront, was alarmed by Ford’s words. Its concern was that Ford either doesn’t know, doesn’t care, or both. None of these is an attractive quality in a mayor, even an unelected one.

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