You have to wonder how much of Rob Ford’s winning margin was directly due to the garbage strike last summer. If there is a backlash feel to this result it is not unusual. The right often wins after a period of serious misgovernance and waste from the left or centre-left. A few notable examples (from major to minor): Jimmy Carter followed by Ronald Reagan, James Callaghan followed by Margaret Thatcher, Bob Rae followed by Mike Harris, and now David Miller followed by Rob Ford. Maybe the lesson is that while it is all very well and good to be right wing the deciding factor is the temperature of the middle-of-the-road electorate. When they get ticked off heads roll.
Hopefully the unions will soon start to feel the heat. Dalton can’t be feeling too happy about this either.