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Business Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Business Times
Why are today's strongmen so obsessed with muscle?
LIBERALS have wasted no time in pointing to Karol Nawrocki's lack of qualifications for his new job as president of Poland. He has never previously held political office. He won by the narrowest of margins with 50.9 per cent of the vote. But Nawrocki possesses the one qualification that many national populists value above all other: a taste for physical strength laced with violence. Nawrocki is a former boxer who still likes to go a few rounds. He is also such an enthusiastic football supporter that he reportedly got the logos of his two favorite teams – Chelsea and Lechia Gdansk – tattooed on his chest. During the campaign, he admitted to taking part in 2009 in a 70-a-side-punch-up with fans of rival clubs, alongside scores of convicted criminals armed with clubs and brass-knuckles. He denied other violence-related accusations, such as that he moonlighted as a pimp during a stint working as a security guard at a hotel and that he has extensive contacts with the Polish underworld. His come-from-behind campaign featured videos of the candidate in the boxing ring and shooting range and a pledge to 'make Poland great again'. This emphasis on physical prowess laced with violence is commonplace on the nationalist right. The master of the genre is, of course, Vladimir Putin. Russia's president likes to pose doing macho things, such as hunting, shooting, fishing and ice-pool diving, often stripping down to his waist to reveal his rippling biceps and bare chest. He claims that he once stunned a Siberian tiger that was supposedly menacing a female journalist. In January 2007, Putin brought his black labrador into a meeting with then German chancellor Angela Merkel, a well-known canophobe, saying 'I'm sure it will behave'. The mini-Putins in Russia's sphere of influence all cultivate the same macho style. The head of the Chechnya Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, frequently dresses in military garb and brandishes guns. He once kept a pet tiger, threatening to set it on journalists who wrote disobliging things about him. The president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, presents himself as a virile farmer, with his fluffy white dog giving him the air of a James Bond villain. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi boasts about his '56-inch chest' and claims that, as a boy, he went swimming among crocodiles. He also maintains a band of uniformed supporters, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who perform calisthenics dressed in skimpy shorts and march through the streets burning mosques. Meanwhile, the Chinese propaganda machine claims that President Xi Jinping regularly carried 100 kilograms of wheat over 5 kilometres without switching shoulders during the Cultural Revolution, and likens his long ascent to power to 'the training of a kung-fu master'. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once christened the opening of a new stadium in Istanbul by playing himself in a football friendly, and scoring a hat-trick – all on live TV. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up And US President Donald Trump is such a devoted wrestling fan that the World Wrestling Entertainment has made him a 'hall of famer'. He loves a physical display of power: He has been agitating for a military parade in Washington, DC, since first coming to power. His solutions to the problem of illegal immigrants during his first term included shooting to kill, shooting in the kneecaps, roasting with heat rays, or digging a moat and filling it with alligators. He proudly hung a portrait of himself in his Mar-a-Lago estate fashioned out of bullet casings – a present from the self-declared 'Trump of the tropics', former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. Trump's infatuation with Putin is the subject of all sorts of conspiracy theories. But the simplest explanation is that Putin is the world's leading exemplar of the quality Trump most admires. Other members of the strongmen club fascinated the US leader for the same reason. He nicknamed Erdogan 'the Sultan', and told everybody how much he admired his 'seemingly endless ability to get his own way at home'. He was much impressed by the fact that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's bodyguards ran alongside his limousine. Kristi Noem, Trump's homeland security secretary, endorsed Nawrocki's candidacy on May 27 with the words: 'Donald Trump is a strong leader for us, but you have the opportunity to have just as strong a leader in Karol.' The right's cult of physical strength is not incidental. It is a metaphor for a much broader argument: that liberalism is synonymous with weakness and that the only way to escape from such weakness is to embrace headstrong, authoritarian leaders. Liberalism's preoccupation with rules and consensus leads to paralysis, the argument goes, and its concern for society's casualties leads to self-paralysis. Therefore, what the world needs, especially in periods of uncertainty, are strong leaders who can cut through the nonsense and uphold their nation's traditions. This cult of strength helps to explain the growing support for right-wing parties among young men. Trump won young men (aged 18 to 29) by 14 points, while Kamala Harris won young women by 18 points. Both British politician Nigel Farage's Reform Party and Germany's Alternative for Germany party also do well among young men. It also helps to explain the right's broader appeal to people who are fed up with political paralysis. Across the world, right-wing parties demonise the bureaucratic blob that protects the status quo and human rights lawyers who make it difficult to stem the flow of refugees. This obsession with strength also dictates the right's governing style. Everywhere they gain power, national populists undermine independent institutions and gather power to the executive – most obviously in countries with weak or non-existent democratic traditions such as Russia but also in the West. Trump is systematically weakening the 'checks and balances' that were supposed to limit the president's power, including the courts, the civil service, the press and Congress. He likes to assure friendly audiences that 'I have the right to do whatever I want as president', quoting Napoleon by saying 'he who saves his country does not violate the law'. Yet the equation of liberalism with weakness and autocracy with strength is a serious error. The liberal order stood up to the threat of Communism after World War II through a combination of internal consensus building and external relentlessness. Authoritarian rule tends to be marred by faction fighting and brittleness, making democracies far more durable than strongmen regimes. And this is an error that could have rapid consequences in Poland. The country has been a model of strength under centrist rule, with annual average growth of 4 per cent and the largest army in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. The election of a supposed strongman to the presidency will inevitably make Poland weaker. BLOOMBERG
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Factbox-The key promises of the main parties contesting Canada's election
By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's general election will take place on April 28, with polls indicating a tight race between the ruling Liberals and the official opposition Conservatives. The candidates will participate in evening debates on Wednesday and Thursday. Here are some of the key planks of the two largest parties: LIBERALS DEALING WITH TRUMP - Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada's reciprocal tariffs on more than C$60 billion worth of U.S. imports will remain in place until Washington removes its import duties. Carney, who says there is a limit to how far Canada can go in imposing dollar-for-dollar tariffs, has promised Canada will thrash out a new economic and security relationship with the U.S. after the election. He has not spelled out how this effort would affect the existing United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade. TAXES - Reduce the marginal tax rate on the lowest tax bracket by one percentage point. Carney's campaign says this move will save two-income families up to C$825 a year and directly benefit more than 22 million Canadians, with middle- and low-income people enjoying the biggest savings. Eliminate the Goods and Services Tax, a value-added tax, for first-time home buyers on properties at or under C$1 million, saving Canadians up to C$50,000 on such purchases. SECURITY - Push through "an unprecedented acceleration" of investment in the armed forces, expanding the Royal Canadian Navy's capabilities with new submarines and additional heavy icebreakers to defend the North and increasing the Coast Guard's reach and abilities. All military personnel would get a raise and the recruitment process for Canada's Armed Forces would be modernized to eliminate a shortage of 14,500 service members. Carney is also promising an overhaul of Canada's troubled defense procurement system to speed up major military purchases. TRADE DIVERSIFICATION - Stunned by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war, the Liberals vow to inject C$5 billion into a new Trade Diversification Corridor Fund. The aim is to build out infrastructure that will diversify Canada's trade relationships around the world, create good jobs and drive economic growth. ENERGY - Aggressively develop natural resources projects that are in the national interest and set up a Major Federal Project Office that would issue a decision on major projects within two years instead of five. HOUSING - The government would act as a developer to build affordable housing at scale, including on public lands, while providing more than C$25 billion in financing to innovative prefabricated home builders. In addition to eliminating the Goods and Services Tax for first-time home buyers on properties at or under C$1 million, the Liberals want to cut municipal development charges in half for multi-unit residential housing. HELP THE AUTO INDUSTRY - Create a C$2 billion strategic response fund to boost the sector's competitiveness, protect manufacturing jobs and build a fortified Canadian supply chain – from raw materials to finished vehicles. CRIME - Recruit 1,000 more police officers to tackle drug and human trafficking, foreign interference, cybercrime, and the organized criminal gangs that steal cars. Train 1,000 border guards to crack down on drugs, illegal guns, and stop gangs from stealing cars. Toughen the criminal code and make bail laws stricter in cases involving violent and organized crime, home invasions, car theft, and human trafficking. CONSERVATIVES DEALING WITH TRUMP - The Conservatives are proposing a deal in which Canada and the U.S. simultaneously drop their tariffs and counter-tariffs. Party leader Pierre Poilievre also would propose an early renegotiation of the USMCA ahead of a planned review in 2026. ENERGY POLICY - Set up a rapid resource project office to handle all regulatory approvals across all levels of government. Create a national energy corridor to fast-track approvals for transmission lines, railways, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure. Approve 10 natural resources projects that have been stuck for years in the federal approval process. HOUSING - Eliminate the federal sales tax on new homes under $1.3 million, which will save home buyers up to C$65,000. Incentivize municipalities to cut building taxes, for total savings of C$100,000 on an average home in Canada's big cities. SECURITY - Double the number of Canadian Rangers in the Arctic, building a new permanent base in Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, and acquire two additional polar icebreakers for the Royal Canadian Navy. TAXES - Cut the lowest income tax bracket by 15%, saving each Canadian taxpayer C$900 per year. Any person or business selling an asset will pay no capital gains tax when they reinvest the proceeds in Canada. Companies that reinvest in active Canadian businesses will also be able to defer any capital gains tax. Allow Canadians to contribute an extra C$5,000 a year to a Tax-Free Savings Account for investments in Canadian companies. Enable working seniors to earn up to C$34,000 on a tax-free basis, C$10,000 more than currently allowed. CRIME - Impose life sentences for anyone who is convicted of five or more counts of human trafficking, importing or exporting ten or more illegal firearms, and fentanyl trafficking. Give judges the power to sentence multiple murderers to consecutive prison sentences without parole eligibility beyond 25 years.
Reuters
16-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
What are Canada's main parties promising in the upcoming federal election?
OTTAWA, April 16 (Reuters) - Canada's general election will take place on April 28, with polls indicating a tight race between the ruling Liberals and the official opposition Conservatives. The candidates will participate in evening debates on Wednesday and Thursday. here. Here are some of the key planks of the two largest parties: LIBERALS DEALING WITH TRUMP - Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada's reciprocal tariffs on more than C$60 billion worth of U.S. imports will remain in place until Washington removes its import duties. Carney, who says there is a limit to how far Canada can go in imposing dollar-for-dollar tariffs, has promised Canada will thrash out a new economic and security relationship with the U.S. after the election. He has not spelled out how this effort would affect the existing United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade. TAXES - Reduce the marginal tax rate on the lowest tax bracket by one percentage point. Carney's campaign says this move will save two-income families up to C$825 a year and directly benefit more than 22 million Canadians, with middle- and low-income people enjoying the biggest savings. Eliminate the Goods and Services Tax, a value-added tax, for first-time home buyers on properties at or under C$1 million, saving Canadians up to C$50,000 on such purchases. SECURITY - Push through "an unprecedented acceleration" of investment in the armed forces, expanding the Royal Canadian Navy's capabilities with new submarines and additional heavy icebreakers to defend the North and increasing the Coast Guard's reach and abilities. All military personnel would get a raise and the recruitment process for Canada's Armed Forces would be modernized to eliminate a shortage of 14,500 service members. Carney is also promising an overhaul of Canada's troubled defense procurement system to speed up major military purchases. TRADE DIVERSIFICATION - Stunned by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war, the Liberals vow to inject C$5 billion into a new Trade Diversification Corridor Fund. The aim is to build out infrastructure that will diversify Canada's trade relationships around the world, create good jobs and drive economic growth. ENERGY - Aggressively develop natural resources projects that are in the national interest and set up a Major Federal Project Office that would issue a decision on major projects within two years instead of five. HOUSING - The government would act as a developer to build affordable housing at scale, including on public lands, while providing more than C$25 billion in financing to innovative prefabricated home builders. In addition to eliminating the Goods and Services Tax for first-time home buyers on properties at or under C$1 million, the Liberals want to cut municipal development charges in half for multi-unit residential housing. HELP THE AUTO INDUSTRY - Create a C$2 billion strategic response fund to boost the sector's competitiveness, protect manufacturing jobs and build a fortified Canadian supply chain – from raw materials to finished vehicles. CRIME - Recruit 1,000 more police officers to tackle drug and human trafficking, foreign interference, cybercrime, and the organized criminal gangs that steal cars. Train 1,000 border guards to crack down on drugs, illegal guns, and stop gangs from stealing cars. Toughen the criminal code and make bail laws stricter in cases involving violent and organized crime, home invasions, car theft, and human trafficking. CONSERVATIVES DEALING WITH TRUMP - The Conservatives are proposing a deal in which Canada and the U.S. simultaneously drop their tariffs and counter-tariffs. Party leader Pierre Poilievre also would propose an early renegotiation of the USMCA ahead of a planned review in 2026. ENERGY POLICY - Set up a rapid resource project office to handle all regulatory approvals across all levels of government. Create a national energy corridor to fast-track approvals for transmission lines, railways, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure. Approve 10 natural resources projects that have been stuck for years in the federal approval process. HOUSING - Eliminate the federal sales tax on new homes under $1.3 million, which will save home buyers up to C$65,000. Incentivize municipalities to cut building taxes, for total savings of C$100,000 on an average home in Canada's big cities. SECURITY - Double the number of Canadian Rangers in the Arctic, building a new permanent base in Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, and acquire two additional polar icebreakers for the Royal Canadian Navy. TAXES - Cut the lowest income tax bracket by 15%, saving each Canadian taxpayer C$900 per year. Any person or business selling an asset will pay no capital gains tax when they reinvest the proceeds in Canada. Companies that reinvest in active Canadian businesses will also be able to defer any capital gains tax. Allow Canadians to contribute an extra C$5,000 a year to a Tax-Free Savings Account for investments in Canadian companies. Enable working seniors to earn up to C$34,000 on a tax-free basis, C$10,000 more than currently allowed. CRIME - Impose life sentences for anyone who is convicted of five or more counts of human trafficking, importing or exporting ten or more illegal firearms, and fentanyl trafficking. Give judges the power to sentence multiple murderers to consecutive prison sentences without parole eligibility beyond 25 years.
