MAX BERNIER as the COMEBACK KID
And other tales from the CPC campaign
The Conservative leadership race has gone on longer than Atlas Shrugged, but we’re almost done. Regardless of who wins, here are five lessons learned:
1. There may be no second acts in American lives, but there are in Canadian politics.
Nine years ago Maxime Bernier was a disgraced former foreign affairs minister, reflecting in a monastery on the prospect of life after politics after being ousted from cabinet for leaving secret documents at the home of a girlfriend with past links to organized crime.
For a time, his name was a punchline.
But a more humble, prudent and experienced Bernier emerged from his time in the political penalty box.
What didn’t change was his respect for the Constitution and commitment to smaller government.
“You have to stick to your principles and when you believe in something, fight for it,” he said, explaining why he carried on. In this race, he has exceeded all expectations and looks to be the candidate to beat.
He is a beacon of hope for disgraced politicians — proof that reputations can, with time, be rehabilitated. Unless your name is Anthony Weiner.
2. Elections are indeed a time to talk serious issues.
Contrary to the quote attributed to Kim Campbell that there’s no room for policy discussions during political campaigns, the candidates in this race who have been policy-lite have suffered, while those like Bernier who have teased out a platform of “bold, conservative changes” have been rewarded.
Lisa Raitt, who many assumed would be a front-run- ner, was penalized for focusing on personality — her backstory as a blue- collar Cape Bretoner, mother and former chief executive — at the expense of talking about what she would do as party leader.
Andrew Scheer was also criticized for being light on economic policy. He claimed presentation is the key to electoral success. “What’s more important is how you bring together these great policies and get more Canadians to buy into them,” he said.
If he wins, it’s because he has successfully allied his happy face to Stephen Harper’s policies.
But focusing almost exclusively on tone is a fig leaf to cover up a lack of sound, concrete policy positions.
The secret sauce is made from both ingredients — policy and presentation.
3. The populist contagion has been contained in Canada.
The Conservative membership has soundly repudiated Trump-like presidential politics, in style and substance.
Kevin O’Leary exploded into the race in early spring, claiming his Rolodex was bigger than Justin Trudeau’s and Bill Morneau’s — “they’d beg to have my Rolodex,” he boasted.
The candidate from Massachusetts pulled out when i t became clear that not enough members wanted Trump-like bluster.
Kellie Leitch didn’t have Trump’s conceit or narcissism but adopted his broad themes — vetting i mmigrants, raising questions about trade deals — to tap into the anti-elite sentiment felt by voters who were alienated by traditional politics.
But members, with one eye on 2019, appear to have little interest in reducing the party to the status of a bitter right- wing online message board. Conservatives will instead vote for what Michael Chong called “a credible, serious party, not one that tries to fool people with shiny objects or appeals to their baser instincts.” 4. It’s the economy, stupid. O’Leary’s legacy to the party will be his enthusiasm for targeting Liberal economic performance. He called himself a “Conservative expansionist” and had some success appealing to 18- to- 35- year- olds disillusioned with Trudeau.
The party has to appeal to people concerned about their financial future, such as young people who can’t afford to own a home or find a stable job, he said. “All the other issues are irrelevant.”
In his absence, Bernier has carried the standard for fiscal conservatives, making tax cuts and balanced budgets the crux of his offering.
5. Michael Chong is a prophet without honour in his own home — for now.
Chong finds himself as unwelcome as Jean Chrétien, once deemed a “vendu” (sellout) by nationalistic Quebec Liberals for advocating federalism, and John Crosbie, who was a proponent of free trade in the 1983 leadership race when such a position was unfashionable.
Chong urged Conservatives to prepare themselves for a new, multi- ethnic “Canada rising.” But it would be a major upset if enough members swallow his position advocating a revenue-neutral carbon tax to make him leader.
Weaning the Tory party off an aversion to the “tax on everything” will be hard, like tearing a bottle from the hands of an alcoholic. But the party has abandoned political touchstones in the past — opposition to samesex marriage is just the latest example. Carbon pricing is coming, the Conservatives will have to acclimatize and Chong will be vindicated.