Ontario provincial New Democratic Leader Andrea Horwath is on a slippery slope and she keeps trying to increase speed. By next Tuesday’s leaders’ debate on provincial television networks, she should be reaching terminal velocity. The only problem with it is that in her rush to self destruct she is only helping Ontario Conservatives and their Leader Tim Hudak.
Horwath’s problem is that in her desperate search for a theme for her campaign, she is resting her case on what she sees as Liberal corruption. Her thesis is that all Liberals are corrupt and therefore Premier Kathleen Wynne must be corrupt. The problem with that approach is that most of the Ontario voters who will buy that foolishness are people who would never vote Liberal anyway. These are the committed Conservative and New Democratic voters who have no intention of voting Liberal.
There is also a group of voters who are going to expand on her thesis beyond all Liberals being corrupt. They are going to use her argument to claim that all politicians are corrupt. That argument is just as logical as what Ms. Horwath is saying.
But the only recourse for people who believe that all politicians are corrupt is to withhold their vote. And here we thought we had already hit rock bottom in terms of voter participation? Horwath is helping lower the turnout. And a lower turnout will help Hudak.
What is also helping these people to reach their very bad conclusion is the particularly malevolent release of an Ontario Cabinet document suggesting the government spend many millions saving the MARS building in downtown Toronto from having to declare bankruptcy. First of all, this is a confidential document written by some bureaucrat that has not been considered by any provincial government. Why those releasing it thought it could smear the Liberals is an interesting question?
Hopefully all of these questions are going to help get an audience for next Tuesday’s television debate. All we know now is that Premier Wynne will have to face some particularly scurrilous attacks from both sides. Her only comfort will be to know that this is a swan song for Andrea Horwath. The election will be decided between Wynne and Hudak’s parties eight days later. And one of them is likely not be around at the same time next year.
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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry
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