Paul Wells: Without power or focus once again, the Conservative Party has been left disappointed and with only voices in its head.
My favorite part of any story about Erin O’Toole’s leadership in the Conservative Party of Canada these days is the part where his office turns down the opportunity to defend him.
“The hitters did not respond to Global News’ request for comment on Monday,” read a chronicle of a rogue senator’s efforts to overthrow the leader. “Neither did O’Toole’s office. “
Previous: “O’Toole’s Office did not answer for The star“request for comments”. O’Toole’s Office has not yet commented. “” O’Toole’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment. “” O’Toole’s Office did not return a request for comments. “
(To be fair, I’m not sure what coming back a request for comment would imply. “Would you like to make a comment?” “Not really. Would you do it?“)
In one of my favorites, from Global’s fearsome Alex Boutilier, MPs are he said to refer questions about the distribution of seats to the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, which then declines to comment. Look, if someone isn’t going to comment, make sure it’s us..
To say the least, these days it’s easy to find communication experts, in any organization, who are convinced that the smartest thing to do in any given circumstance is to give up commenting. O’Toole, or the people he hires not to comment on his behalf, seems to have raised the reluctance to the level of art. If, hypothetically, the earth opened up and swallowed it up tonight, I wonder how many weeks it would be before anyone could be sure it had happened. I have a long history of being less intelligent than communications professionals, so from what I know maybe it’s really smart to respond to accusations of a leadership vacuum by acting like a leadership vacuum.
But so far, what’s surprising is how far, for conservatives, fall 2021 is starting to look like fall 2019.
On both occasions, a federal election led to an outcome that mixed disappointment with tempting progress for the main opposition party: a plurality of popular votes, a liberal incumbent held in the minority in the House of Commons, but no outright victory. , no return to power. . Each time, the immediate disappointment led to questions about the leader: Andrew Scheer then, Erin O’Toole now. Each time, the initial complaints seemed to give way to long-term pragmatism. “Sure, we don’t love this guy, but we can’t just change leaders every few months, either. Let it be.”
And yet, by the time the snow blew, questions about the leader had returned in both 2019 and 2021. On a second wave, if you will allow me a ghastly analogy. For O’Toole this must be particularly disappointing. It was supposed to represent an alternative to everything Scheer had come to represent, at the end of his leadership. O’Toole was friendlier to the weather. He had offered a deal in principle to march in Pride parades, still hypothetical. It has done him a lot of good so far. In another bizarre flashback to the Scheer era, he finds himself beset by opponents who, to say the least, seem to have no clear alternative in mind. Denise Batters was a supporter of Peter MacKay. Did you expect MacKay to be more conservative than O’Toole? Do you expect MacKay to come back from ignominy (there’s no kinder way to put it) to run again, to O’Toole’s right? I’d ask you, but I understand you don’t respond to requests for comment. What, I mean, would you do it?
This was also the curse of 2019. “No Scheer” was an easy answer to what the Tories wanted as a leader, easier than it turned out to be providing a real person’s name. Brad Wall, Jason Kenney, Jean Charest, Rona Ambrose, and Pierre Poilievre were unwell. Most had made no secret of their reluctance to run. Some would have been very problematic candidates had they applied. One or two can be highly problematic candidates if given the opportunity.
What the leader wears, now as in 2019, is the sound of silence. Two things can be relied upon to unite even a moderately divided party: power and crisis. If O’Toole had won the election, he would have to dole out cabinet jobs, write a speech on the throne, and pursue a new course in government. It’s not easy and it’s not without risk, but power at least brings a sense of momentum. Crisis, and by this I mean a crisis in the real world, clarifies what is at stake. Encourage people to put small differences aside to meet the needs of the moment. But in the absence of a crisis, or anything else, a party is left with only the voices in its head.
I almost wonder if Justin Trudeau’s reluctance to convene Parliament, which I recently complained about, is not a stroke of tactical genius. Conservatives facing a Trudeau know what they are fighting against. Conservatives facing the void soon find it staring at them. If I were Trudeau, I would wonder if it is possible to extend this Parliament before it begins.
Reference-www.macleans.ca