Now, as Lady Bracknell might observe, it is one thing to lose the new leader of your party, but only true virtuosos can throw in a party president a few days later.
— MURPHY
Save for its defiant originality, decapitation by one’s own hand has little to recommend it as a political tactic. Apart from the advanced demands it places on the carpet cleaners, it leaves very little opportunity for followup. There is, for example the teasing question of where, or even if, to place the mike at subsequent press briefings. Many are therefore puzzled, even to the outer limits of perplexity, that the Ontario Tories have twice called in the guillotine as the opening gambit for this year’s June election campaign.
In the words of the prime minister’s favourite poet, these past two weeks the Ontario Tories “went downward to darkness on extended wings.” Let us reprise the highlights.
Less than 11 days ago the Tories, under the pristine leadership of Patrick Brown, were in clear and present danger of winning the election soon to fall on this province. Premier Kathleen Wynne was at a place in the polls vividly captured by the verbal cameo “lower than a snake’s belly.” High officials of the Liberal party had been dragged through court proceedings. Outrage at power prices had roiled the populace. The shamanry — pundits, pollsters and prognosticators — all agreed: The Tories could fall asleep for the next few months, and victory was theirs.
Fortunately, they took stock of the peril in time, and proceeded with the flair for which they have won renown, to blow up their chances in as comprehensive a detonation as the supplies at hand allowed. First, that tornado of incontinent zeal sweeping the continent, #MeToo, came down on the political trailer park, briskly funnelling leader Patrick Brown from the scene, and then extending its ruinating siphon to the party president, Rick Dykstra. Leader and president, both gone within four days.
Now, as Lady Bracknell might observe, it is one thing to lose the new leader of your party, but only true virtuosos can throw in a party president a few days later. Some might haggle that these “losses” could not be directly credited to the party itself, but I fear this can only be argued by those ignorant of the more recent history of this baffling institution. Misfortune doesn’t just pay random visits to the Ontario Conservative party: it recognizes the party as its home and native land. It has fulsomely and with abandon been handing off elections to the provincial Liberals for nearly a full decade now. Does its constitution make losing obligatory? On the experience of recent times the question is reasonable.
Years ago, John Tory, its then leader, now maître d’ of Toronto, graciously self- immolated to extend a final term to the anti-charismatic Dalton McGuinty. The Conservatives, anxious to keep the streak alive, next lighted on Tim Hudak as their awkward Moses, a gentleman of such restricted political skill that he may properly be viewed as personally managing the handoff of the premiership from McGuinty to Wynne.
From Hudak the smouldering torch was passed to Patrick Brown, who proceeded to dip it in ice- water, and whose plastic demeanour and embrace of a carbon tax were effectively rescue ships sent out to Premier Wynne. To her credit, her own stamina and grit under fire were a boost, too.
And then, the past 11 days. So now you understand, the scale and thoroughness of the current demolition of the party is not due purely to outside chance. Achievement, even of negative character, on this scale, requires practice and determination. And the Ontario Tories have lavishly demonstrated that they have mastered the arts of political suicide, brand destruction and campaign dysfunction to a degree unknown since the first full moon shone over the troubled waters of Lake Ontario.
After such knowledge, as the poet has asked, what forgiveness? Curiously, even bizarrely, the brazen, horrific collapse of the past two weeks offers real opportunity. As the magi of old, they could — could, seek to turn this lead into gold. Disaster faced with real resolution has energies undreamed of.
Here are their advantages. The focus is all theirs now. Their campaign for the next election is indistinguishable from the campaign to completely rebuild their party. They own, for good or ill, the political stage; the focus is almost entirely theirs.
At this moment they are tabula rasa — they start from a completely fresh baseline. Should one of the leadership candidates, in making the case for him or herself, establish true connection with Ontario’s bruised electorate and shake off the depressing, pre- scripted, tenured mediocrity of the Ontario political scene, that person might — the opportunity rests between impossible and unlikely — disperse the pessimism over both party and politics in this province.
There’s a restless and disappointed electorate still on call. Some nerve, courage and originality could offer the signal to reach them. Now whether this weathered, defeat- addicted, dull Tory party has a leader in the waiting that combines these talismanic virtues a few months will show. The Tories are edging the crypt; what have they got to lose?