Don't miss the link at the bottom to another blogger's take on this. I like input. We need people to feel free to voice their ideas. NJC
An appetite for change? by Norman Spector, former chief of staff to Brian Mulroney, Oct. 24, 03, The Globe and Mail
Canadians may well relish a Conservative Party of Canada, but much depends on who is served up as leader, says NORMAN SPECTOR,
It's difficult to imagine the new Conservative Party of Canada winning the next election, but that should be the objective, starting with its choice of leader.
Though neither Stephen Harper nor Peter MacKay can be ruled out, neither can match Paul Martin's stature, experience and competence. In truth, it would take a miracle -- someone like, well . . . like Paul Martin. Or, like Brian Mulroney, another "trans-cultural" embraced by francophone Quebeckers as a native son.
I don't know whom my former boss is eyeing for leader, but his fingerprints are on the Harper-MacKay deal, notwithstanding spin about Belinda Stronach as the godmother. She's kept Mike Harris on the shelf as a Magna director in anticipation, and this week, he seemed interested. Unilingual, not the sharpest fellow at his other perch, the Fraser Institute, and carrying baggage accumulated as premier of Ontario, Mr. Harris is still better positioned than any other potential candidate to cement the new party's unity and break the Liberal hegemony in Ontario.
For another view on Mr. Harris and the media's methods in supporting their Liberal masters so as to stop Mr. Harris before he enters a race which he, too, has the potential to win, see my article Example of the Anti-Merger, Anti-Mulroney Media in Action, on how the media kills potential candidates -- they're guilty--and damned--by association. NJC
To have even the slightest chance of victory, the Conservatives must face an uncomfortable truth: the majority of Canadians are infused with slightly left-leaning centrist values and it will take time to convert them. In the meantime, the new party must appeal to voters united principally by their anti-Liberalism. Forging compromise will not be easy, and could again end in self-destruction.
My Commentary:
D**n it! Those of us who did NOT have the above-mentioned leftist/centrist values had nowhere to go until Preston Manning harnessed like-minded conservatives and formed the Reform Party; then he put his job on the line to form the Canadian Alliance; and now, conservatives of all stripes are coming to see that a merger and much discussion and compromise will ensue -- but the best among us understand that conservative should mean conservative -- not leftist NDP and leftist Liberal. There are a great number of Canadians who have had no political home until Preston Manning and now Stephen Harper provided one. There is need for a real conservative party in Canada not another pseudo-NDP/Liberal party.
On abortion, social conservatives, including Catholics, have over time become more pragmatic about the content of legislation; most also understand it would be easier to change public opinion under a sympathetic government. The Alliance's referendum proposal cost it many votes in the last election, and the Conservative Party of Canada should instead promise not to legislate on hot-button issues during its first term. . . .
In offering change, the Conservatives should focus on one principal theme: Cleaning up the mess in Ottawa. This may cost a few seats, but even denizens of Fat City are appalled by waste and corruption. Though Mr. Martin positions himself as an agent of change, he is part of the system, having served as finance minister, and as a Quebec MP, during the years of scandals and egregious excesses.
Promising effective and efficient management in exclusive federal jurisdictions that the Liberals have botched -- foreign policy and defence; Air Canada; aboriginal affairs; and international epidemics, such as SARS -- would appeal to many voters. Always eager to intrude into provincial areas, and surfing on a low dollar, the Liberals have also failed in their responsibility to arrest our economic underperformance relative to competitors. Policies to promote prosperity would have greater appeal than Canadian self-flagellation. . . .
The new party's founding principles do not include constitutional reform -- either of the Senate, or to recognize the "distinct society." Quebeckers already sense the new party is writing them off -- the strategy advocated by Tory Gordon Churchill a half-century ago. Blaming Quebec for federal Liberal policies such as bilingualism -- widespread in Western Canada -- will not win many votes either. However, Quebeckers could be attracted by a commitment to redress the fiscal imbalance favouring Ottawa -- a cause championed by former Tory leader and current Premier Jean Charest. Based on feedback from my Le Devoir readers, there's little enthusiasm for Paul Martin's promise to spend in another area of provincial responsibility -- municipal affairs.
[. . . .]
While the odds are long, a Conservative victory is not impossible. Recruiting strong candidates and screening out kooks would project competence and a miracle leadership candidate who can appeal to Quebeckers may yet emerge. Even if not, the Conservative Party might find on the campaign trail an appetite for change that is stronger than anyone has anticipated.
Don't miss this post -- another take on the Norman Spector article and Brian Mulroney -- and it is a different tack from mine.Mulroney? -- an intriguing idea worth thinking about. This man has been pilloried by the leftist Liberal media and his potential deserves consideration.
Brian Mulroney was the man who broke this party and he's the only man who can fix it!
I know that as surely as I write these words.
It appears that Brian is setting out to do just that and I am behind him every step of the way. I say that for a reason. Mulroney knows damned well what he did wrong and how things got so out of hand. He's had ten years in the wilderness to figure it out and this guy is NOT stupid (unlike Chretien). Much has changed in the years since Mulroney left office but he has maintained all his contacts and is today more respected on the international stage than any other Canadian I can think of. He is also a coalition builder as we all know.
