The big question for this Liberal Express tour is will it work?
No, I’m not talking about the bus, which appears to have been fixed overnight and now sits outside our hotel in Cornwall, I’m talking about will it help Ignatieff and company move beyond the 23-27% range in voter support. Asked what he wants from this tour Ignatieff said that he wants to talk to Canadians, engage with Canadians and rally his party’s base, only adding on when prompted that he wants the poll numbers to come up.
The bus breaking down was a stroke of good fortune for me, I was one of two journalists that got to sit in the back of Scott Bradley’s SUV as we drove from the site of the breakdown to the next event. Sitting in the front seat was Michael Ignatieff.
Now while the affable Bradley, the Liberal candidate in Ottawa-Centre, spoke far more than his boss, Ignatieff was more than willing to engage in chitchat and answer questions along the way.
Ignatieff is more than willing to admit that he has plenty of building to do, not just with voters but also within the once mighty Liberal party that is still feeling the effects of the internal wars of the Chrétien-Martin era. Driving along highway 138 past places like Monkland and the historic St. Andrew’s West, Ignatieff told me he’s spending plenty of time talking to party activists to let them know that their views matter. On Monday he held an online town hall for party activists that drew about 200 people for a two-hour chat session.
Getting 200 people online may not sound like much, there’s probably more people than that playing Farmville on Facebook right now, but for a party that blew away its internal infrastructure during the leadership wars, this is progress. On Tuesday night in Cornwall there were well over 100 people (organizers say 160) who came out despite bad weather to hear their very late leader speak.
Conservatives in Ottawa should be concerned about Ignatieff finding his footing and his party putting their big red machine back on the road. So far they laugh at the idea and don’t seem to take the Liberals seriously but just like the bus that is now fixed and ready to take us to the next stop, the Liberal machine itself might soon be fixed and ready to run again.
Next stop Brockville.
No, it will not work.
Ifthe Libs want any hope of making a comeback, they need to stake out a new claim on centre, rather than flirting with leftist policies. If people want left, they’ll vote for the real thing-NDP or Green.
They also need a whole new set f candidates, and to get people interested again at the grass roots. I would suggest that Iggy anounce that all candidates will have to submit themselves to nomination contests, and invite Canadians to come in with their input. That would be a good ay to get rid of deadwood like Marlene Jennings, John McCallum and a host of others who serve as reminders of the Martin years.
He should also be seeking policy input from the people, but most importantly, stay far, far away from the radicals….
But you see, he won’t take that advice offered much less expensively than Peter Donolos. But unless he does the bus tour will not work.
I think the bus tour will fail. Why do I say that? Because Ignatieff is simply talking to only few ordinary Canadians and mostly Liberal supporters. That may help the base but it does not get him face time with the vast swath of voters who clearly do not like him nor will vote for him. So Ignatieff et al may think the bus tour will help but its questionable in my mind.
The man simply is not a politician and is uncomfortable being forced to say things he doesn’t believe and mingling with those who he considers his lessers. His speeches are dull. Yesterday I heard him say he is going to bring politics back to Canadians. What in the hell does that mean? How does that distinguish the Libs from the Conservatives? A tin ear. You bet.
Patience, good survival instincts while dealing with squabbling internal factions, foreseeing and avoiding your own public pitfalls while spotlighting your governing opponent’s missteps are usually the greatest allies for any political leader awaiting his turn at bat.
Obviously on the right road. Who is Harpo intimidating today?