We will soon see the leadership debates for the Conservative Party of Canada. The first will take place on May 11, in Edmonton; the second on May 25, in Montreal. This anticipated timing is no coincidence: the debates will take place before the critical date of June 3, the deadline for selling cards to members to be able to vote in the September 10 election.
This week we had a glimpse of the lines of attack of the two main candidates, each pointing out the weaknesses of their opponent. Jean Charest, the first, threw down the gauntlet last Sunday on CTV, declaring that Pierre Poilievre had disqualified himself by supporting truckers, which amounted to legitimizing the blockade of the Canadian economy. Mr. Charest took up the argument in the evening at Everybody talks about it, specifying that the laws are not “a buffet where you choose what you like and what you don’t like! In his opinion, one cannot be both a legislator and an American populist, targeting Pierre Poilievre here.
Charest’s television appearances hit the mark, although he performed better in English. More combative in his exchange with Evan Solomon on CTV, he was more defensive at Everybody talks about it facing a Guy Lepage who, Quebec public obliges, did not let go of his record as a former premier of Quebec.
The Poilievre and Charest camps also clashed Monday on CTV’s daily political show through a heated panel pitting Jenni Byrne, Stephen Harper’s former campaign manager and now adviser to Pierre Poilievre, and Tasha Kheiriddin. , Jean Charest’s campaign co-chair.
fake conservative
Hammering that Charest is not a true conservative, such is the message of the Poilievre camp. We recall that Charest supports the carbon tax and that he had increased the QST even though Stephen Harper was reducing the GST. More controversial, his position on long guns and his support for the registry go against the policies of the Conservative Party.
This strategy of Poilievre’s attack on Charest is the same one adopted by Erin O’Toole in his run against Peter Mackay, when he called him a “quasi” liberal (Liberal-lite). This forced Jean Charest into retrenchment, forcing him each time to reaffirm his conservatism before being able to talk about his program.
Mélanie Paradis, former co-director of O’Toole’s campaign, nevertheless made her my culpa on Twitter about this strategy. It was silly, she said, in a country where 35% of the population define themselves as liberals. Easy to say, a posterioriespecially when it first worked.
Convoy, Crypto & Huawei
Regarding truckers, we can expect Pierre Poilievre to go on the offensive. The best defense is attack! Taking up the argument of Jenni Byrne on CTV, Pierre Poilievre will not fail to recall that Candice Bergen, elected leader of the Conservative Party by caucus, has also supported the truckers. Should she resign? Mr. Poilievre will certainly ask Mr. Charest.
As for cryptocurrencies as a way to fight inflation, Mr.me Byrne was obviously on the defensive, as Mr. Poilievre will be during the debates. Positioning yourself on cryptocurrencies is a good membership recruitment strategy. However, as we know, hell is paved with good intentions, and including inflation was not wise. This took credibility away from his message. Populism and rigor do not mix.
Tasha Kheiriddin finally defended Mr. Charest’s position on Huawei, a subject on which he continues to be weakened, as we saw at Everybody talks about it. That Charest was able to work to promote 5G for the Chinese company while working to free the two Canadian hostages raises questions, to say the least.
Jenni Byrne and Tasha Kheiriddin have stuck to their game plan and the lines of attack are already emerging. Looking at this simulation announcing the debate to come, I have only one regret: Kheiriddin has presence in his defense of Jean Charest. Too bad she’s not a candidate.