The progressive mob needs heroes.  People they can admire, people who demonstrate their seeming worthiness through words and actions. We may as well call them saints because adherence to left-wing shibboleths requires faith – unquestioning faith.

Jacinda Ardern, former New Zealand prime minister, achieved sainthood relatively early on in her term in office. Notwithstanding the fact that she was completely incompetent as leader of a government, she did do a good hug. After the massacre at the Christchurch mosque, she proved to be a genuine sympathiser, providing nurture to many people. Her popularity stakes soared.

Of course, it goes without saying that she was always fully committed to the progressive project. She was going to oversee the building of 100,000 new homes under the program, KiwiBuild. How good was that?  As it turned out, a small fraction of that number was ever completed.

She was fully on board with multiculturalism, intent on handing over additional property rights to the Maoris, as well as altering the school curriculum to include more Maori-sourced education materials, even in science and mathematics.

At one stage, science teachers were instructed to give considerable weighting to Maori’s suspicions about the creation of the universe, along with established science.  When anyone objected, they were sent to the naughty corner.

But all good things come to an end, and so it was with Jacinda’s period in office. Her overkill during Covid had caused a great deal of harm to the economy. People were leaving the country in droves. House prices had soared and were still at record levels.

It was clear that she was headed for electoral defeat and so she bailed while she could. Her status as a saint would secure her various prestigious and lucrative posts – at the United Nations, at top overseas universities, talking gigs, effectively set up for the rest of her life. She would have time to write a self-serving but immensely boring book about herself, and she could drag her husband and kid around the world depending on her opportunities. Sadly, she has now chosen to live in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

But the mob gets restless. A new hero is routinely required. Quotes from signature speeches must be available to provide ballast for the current collectivist way of thinking. A simple reference to the name provides comfort to those still convinced that the social democrat project is the only way.

And along comes Mark Carney, newly elected Prime Minister of Canada. In fact, I have been following the career of Carney for many years. He was once the Governor of the Bank of Canada and then the Governor of the Bank of England. He was always a committed left-wing greenie, but the depth of his hue deepened as the years rolled on.

After leaving Threadneedle Street, he took on some official climate change role with the UN, while reverting to his job in investment banking, this time with an emphasis on lucrative climate-related projects with government subsidies attached.

After Justin Trudeau blew up as Canada’s top man – do we all miss this colourful idiot? – Carney was able to fluke his way into becoming the Prime Minister notwithstanding the fact that he didn’t even hold a seat prior to the general election.

The conservative opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, had been riding high in the polls. But the imposition of high tariffs by Trump on Canadian products as well as a few humorous Trump jibes on Canada quickly turned the electoral dial in Carney’s favour.

(I particularly loved that interaction between Carney and Trump when The Donald mistakenly referred to Carney as President Carney. Carney pulled him up by telling him it’s Prime Minister. As quick as lightning, Trump told him that he was lucky not to be called Governor Carney, referencing his tease about Canada becoming the 51st state of America.)

Carney was able to win a seat and get the Liberal party over the line, even though Poilievre put in a very creditable performance for his party.

Let me be upfront about Carney.  He is very intelligent but oily. He regards himself as the smartest person in just about any room and he is convinced of his climate/progressive mission. His technical competence as a manager is viewed by him as his finest quality. (He sounds quite like Malcom Turnbull, when you think about it.)

One example of his egregious behaviour, although he would not see it as such, occurred during his term as Governor of the Bank of England. Carney was bitterly opposed to Brexit – no surprises there. He is a committed globalist and regards any retreat from multilateralism as necessarily retrograde. The ‘research’ that was released by the Bank at that time – I use the inverted commas deliberately – was absurdly slanted to a particular point of view. Brexit would lead to an economic calamity for the UK; unemployment would soar; and there would be a deep, long-lasting recession. Carney clearly had his mitts all over the messaging.

But let me fast-forward to the present and the emergence of Saint Mark. His elevation to the sainthood is mainly about his vocal and staunch opposition to President Trump.  Anyone who is openly against Trump is an immediate candidate for entry to the socialist state of special holiness. He has demonstrated his intense dislike of Trump at several meetings, including his attempts to resist the imposition of economically harmful tariffs on Canada. Politically, he has helped to work up an anti-American fever on the part of Canadians. Many Canadians love him just for his opposition to Trump.

Then along comes another Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum. Unsurprisingly, Carney has been a Davos man from way back. He fits right in with the Davos set of faux environmentalists and concerned citizens pushing their self-interested barrows. His speech was the normal drivel you expect at these events. After attacking Trump and claiming that the rules-based international order no longer exists – it never did – he invents some sort of gobbledygook about middle-order powers taking charge and creating a new global order.

‘I would like to tell you that the other countries, especially intermediate powers like Canada, are not powerless. They have the capacity to build a new order that encompasses our values, such as respect for human rights, sustainable development, solidarity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the various states.’ You could almost set these words to music. The progressive crowd went wild, hanging on every word.

He trotted out much the same verbal garbage during his recent trip to Australia where he addressed both houses of our own parliament. The luvvies lapped up every word. The fact that it was essentially meaningless doesn’t worry them. They have found a new saint.

In the meantime, Carney is smart enough to underwrite his political position with some sensible policies. He killed the consumer carbon tax when he assumed office.  He massively reduced the international student intake to Canada. Population growth has now subsided and rents have become more affordable. Being originally a boy from Alberta, he understands the importance of resources for Canada and has acted appropriately.

So, arise Saint Mark. A few more speeches like Davos, a few more confrontations with The Donald, and your standing in the progressive peck order may even rise above Saint Jacinda.