I’ve been over this theme before with Camp but it refuses to go away. No matter where I look, I read about massive Trump rallies or about a new and conservative rich women’s group calling themselves the ‘Mothers of Victory’ or I watch with dismay the destructive rampage in France or I shake my head at the recent Supreme Court decisions, rolling back decades of liberal decisions, taking away protection for minorities. 

Camp was already quaffing his first pint. ‘Must be slow at the book store that you’re here already,’ I said, sitting down.

            ‘I’ve got summer help, an eager student who loves books. She would work for free just to be in the book store.’

            ‘You’re paying her I hope.’

            ‘Of course, I’m not a slave owner.’

            ‘Did you hear that our former prime minister, Stephen Harper, was in Budapest cosying up to Viktor Orbán, to discuss strengthening the collaboration of right-wing parties?  Orbán has also called on Ukraine to concede to Russia, saying Kyiv cannot win the war,’ I said after Vicky brought me some liquid relief.

            Camp nodded palming his iPhone. ‘Let me quote you what Owen Jones wrote for the Guardian at the end of May. He was outlining the spectre of the rise of right-wing, fascist politics across the democratic world. From the blatant self-serving megalomanic politics of the Donald to Jörg Haider, who expressed sympathy for the Nazi regime. His far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) now leads opinion polls in Austria and has a chance to form the next Austrian government. The EU even imposed diplomatic sanctions on Austria. Then there is the Vox party in Spain – defined by its hostility to migrants – they came in third in May’s elections. They could walk the same halls of power that generalissimo Franco walked. Over in Germany, popularity for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is surging. They could displace the ruling Social Democrats in the next general election. How about the Sweden Democrats party which has neo-Nazi roots. In the last election, it came second, and negotiated a deal to prop up a right-wing government. Meanwhile in France, Marine Le Pen and her National Rally party scored their best ever results in recent elections. Italy has a new prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, head of the far-right Brothers of Italy party. In eastern Europe, we have Hungary, ruled by a de facto far-right autocracy and Viktor Orbán and Our Homeland Movement. Poland, ruled by a hard-right government which has set up a commission to supposedly investigate Russian influence in the country. President Duda has announced he will sign a bill which can ban people from public office for 10 years. This will be used to control political opposition. I could go on and on but the writing is on the wall, so to speak.’

I had to agree and added: ‘The US could be under a right-wing dictatorship by 2030, a Canadian political science professor has warned, urging Canada to protect itself against the ‘collapse of American democracy’ reports Robert Luscombe in The Guardian. Much of the professor’s hypothesis centres around the idea of Donald Trump returning to the White House in 2024.’

‘And that is an ominous spectre of fear that now seems a distinct possibility,’ Camp said.

While thousands of acres are burning in Canada and the world recorded its highest average temperature ever, last week, we are enjoying the summer here on the lovely Sunshine Coast. Just a bit of hazy smoke is streaked across the coastal mountains, probably from the Donnie Creek fire, at close to 6000sqkm the biggest fire ever. 

‘If the world is burning up, who’s worried about fascism or dictatorships?’ Vicky said, having overheard parts of our conversation.

‘We are!’ we both said in stereo.