Or, the inner city versus suburbia.
Mayor Ford would not have become mayor of Toronto had it not been for the amalgamation of the city with surrounding municipalities in 1998. He campaigned against the urban elite – for which Rosedale, an affluent neighbourhood in the original City of Toronto, is considered a symbol – in order to persuade the inhabitants of the vast and growing suburban areas – Ford Nation – to vote for him.
The interests of suburbia and of the inner city are far from identical, both with respect to tax policies and to transportation issues. It is therefore not surprising that suburbia is more inclined to vote for rednecks than Rosedale.
The present scandal related to Ford’s drinking and drug-consuming behaviour vindicates those who voted against amalgamation in 1998.
An article in the NYT echoes Eric’s view:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/opinion/torontos-hot-mess.html?ref=opinion
an excerpt: “. . . the city is divided and angry. Mr. Ford has played off its fissures perfectly. City Hall is broken — a result of a disastrous amalgamation undertaken by provincial conservatives.”
Thank you, Curmudgeon. If you help me popularize the term BLUENECK, I will in future call blogs on this subject BLUENECKS Versus REDNECKS.
There is another dangerous aspect to this story. Wages have not kept pace with the increase in productivity and have not kept up with inflation. Many seniors have lost their retirement savings or had them dramatically reduced. Therefore, many people are financially stressed and will vote for anybody who will promise them lower taxes. This is especially true for people who come from communist countries and don’t understand the concept that taxes are part of a capitalist system.