George Stroumboulopoulos on Toronto Mayor’s ‘Sensational’ Scandal
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ABC News(TORONTO) — It’s a scandal with the potential to end the career of even the most well-loved politician, let alone one as polarizing as Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Allegations of smoking crack while in office have plagued the city official since May, when reporters at Gawker and The Toronto Star reported they had seen a video of the incident.
On Tuesday, Ford admitted the accusations were true after denying them for months. Another video surfaced this week, showing Ford in a state of intoxication threatening to kill someone.
But Ford is holding on — in fact, his approval rating has increased by five points since the scandal broke.
Canadian broadcaster George Stroumboulopoulos joined George Stephanopoulos on This Week Sunday to discuss the latest and offer some insight into the mayor’s steadfast popularity among Toronto residents.
“We’re used to scandals … but this is a particular kind of scandal that we’re just figuring out,” Stroumboulopoulos said. “The fact that it’s crack and this is a mayor who’s so polarizing to begin with makes it more sensational.”
Stroumboulopoulos, host of CBC’s George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, said Ford has a strong base of supporters in the suburbs and around the outskirts of the city.
“They don’t have any other people who are real populists the way he is,” he said. “I think that a lot of people like the fact that there’s this guy who seems to be fighting for them.”
This scandal has left Toronto more polarized than ever. “It’s a big city but it’s growing and people are trying to understand the divide between the suburbs and the downtown core, and I think that’s what this is really about,” Stroumboulopoulos said.
Although many are now calling on the mayor to resign, Ford is resolutely holding on to his office, saying if the public wants him out they can voice their opinions at the polls next October.
“His popularity is going up. Yes, the calls for his resignation are also going up. So no one knows what any of those numbers mean right now,” Stroumboulopoulos said.
But he did not rule out the possibility of Ford’s re-election. “The fact that it is unknown says a lot about his position,” Stroumboulopoulos said.
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