The problem most people seem to be having with taking on the leadership of the conservative party is the party itself. Jean Charest said it best when he said that the party had changed much since he was involved federally back in the 90s. He was too much of a gentleman to note that the conservative party has become the playground of a nasty bunch of self-obsessed ideologues.
It was Stephen Harper who drove that truck downhill in Canada. And his lead disciples are Jason Kenney in Alberta and Doug Ford in Ontario. The crazies are in command. Look at Donald Trump in the United States. He is using the Republican’s Grand Old Party as cannon fodder in his battle against impeachment.
Back in the 1970s and 80s, I used to laughingly say some of my best friends were conservatives. But I was serious that in that time frame that there were conservatives who had some good ideas and cared about people other than themselves. I admired many of them.
In fact, my problem today is that too many of the liberals we are hearing from are more like the conservatives of 50 years ago. They have stopped being progressive. They are using conservative excuses. They take a baby step and call it a stride forward. And when it comes to the environment, I am very much worried about where today’s liberals are headed.
The other day a political commentator compared turning down a chance at being prime minister to Prince Harry and his duchess wanting to dump the trappings of royalty. I think that was reaching but there are some similarities in the feeling of uselessness of being royal and in the life of a back-bench member of parliament.
I have no idea who could have got to Pierre Poilievre. Maybe the pit bull had a revelation and stepped out of the race. Or maybe, it was that the pit bull realized that he did not have the stuff of a leader. He has to stay in the role, he does best.
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Copyright 2020 © Peter Lowry
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