We must fight relentlessly and without compromise against the extreme right. However, three federal conservative deputies recently met Christine Anderson, deputy of a far-right party in Germany, AfD, with whom they shared a meal in a restaurant. They said they were unaware of Mr.me Anderson and AfD.
No one believed this implausible excuse, to be classified in the category “the dog ate my homework”. Type AfD into Google and you’ll find a far-right, anti-immigration party seen as a potential threat to democracy in Germany1.
Certainly, the Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre condemned with the harshest words the ideas of Mme Anderson and his tour on Canadian soil. But he did not punish his three deputies. And this is unfortunately not the Conservatives’ first flirtation with this dangerous ideology.
The rapid and enthusiastic support of certain conservatives for the “freedom convoy”, which brought together elements of the extreme right, has aged badly. Let’s be clear: the Conservative Party of Canada is not a far-right party. But part of her radical wing flirts with her. It is indefensible and it must stop.
When three of your MPs feel comfortable enough to eat with a far-right MP, that means your party is far too tolerant of that ideology. Any flirtation with the extreme right is disturbing and dangerous for our democracy. Especially from a party that aspires to lead the country.