Strategy and the Leadership Issue

It is clear that both parties are running on the Liberal record, with the Liberals standing proud in defense of it, while the Conservatives point out broken promises. The Conservatives will hammer on the leadership issue, while the Liberals present Dalton McGuinty as a human being, who, while not perfect, works hard in service of this Province.

The platforms are only important in that they give the media a handle to grab onto and spin the issues. We’ll soon see how that is going to play out.

When the Conservative Party talks about leadership, I wonder what they mean these days? Leadership in the Harris days was when the Premier did something to enrage a chunk of the population, and then didn’t back down from the ensuing fight. He was a strong leader.

Dalton McGuinty has been remarkably boring in his leadership style. He hasn’t led the provinces teachers to go on strike. He hasn’t led Ontarians into selling off vital assets to American interests. His leadership style when handling Caledonia, for better or worse, has been decidedly different than Harris’ style when handling Ipperwash.

Leadership in politics very often means charisma, and this is the weakness in McGuinty that the Conservatives have chosen to exploit. The Conservatives aren’t so much trying to sell Tory as a leader as they are trying to impugn McGuinty for not being Keith Richards, the coolest guy in any room that he is in. The Liberals seem to be fully in agreement that McGuinty doesn’t have rock star appeal, that is why in this campaign, they will make every effort to make him into Ned Flanders, your excellent next door neighbor.

Here’s my take. A leader does not go out of his way to create divisions and animosity in the electorate for the pupose of political exploitation. I give McGuinty credit for not doing that which Mike Harris is famous for. If John Tory will not denounce the politics of division as practiced by the former Conservative government, I am afraid he is not the kind of leader that I am looking for. I’m looking for thoughtful and responsive leadership that prefers to avoid conflict and crisis. McGuinty, even though he isn’t the kind of person you need at your party in order for it to go off right, is the best leader running in this election.

The Writ is about to drop …

The writ drops on Monday, and this election promises to be interesting for different reasons than past elections in Ontario have been. This time around, there is no polarizing character or hot-point issues for the parties to rally voters for or against. On the provincial level, it will be fun to watch the parties, and the media struggle to set the tone and frame the public discourse for this election.  

The real fun will be in our riding of Nipissing, where party lines will be blurred as two genuinely interesting and excellent characters vie for the seat. Bill Vrebosch carries the Conservative banner, while Monique Smith seeks to be returned to Queen’s Park for another term. Oh ya – as per usual there will also be an NDP candidate trying to crack double-digit support. I’m sure he is a heck of a nice guy, but he’ll probably get ignored a lot in this blog. At this time, it is unclear whether or not the Green Party will even run a candidate.

There was a time when I would be more likely to eat a bowl of thumbtacks for breakfast than to vote Conservative. Ever since Mulroney and Harris tore the ass out of this country and province respectively, I have had nothing but contempt for that party. In fact, I still do, but although I have nothing good to say about the party, this riding has a Conservative candidate the commands respect. The Singing Mayor of East Ferris, Bill Vrebosch is a man of the people, his integrity and ability are unquestioned, and has built up a reputation for being a pillar of the community over 30 years of public service. I could vote for this man.

I could vote for Bill Vrebosch, but I will probably vote for Monique Smith. I think she has a great record, and I am particularly impressed with the fact that she has maintained grace under pressure as the local media has done a hatchet job on her and the Liberals over the past four years.