All of these are fair points (including the comments from other readers), but I think there is a larger issue that transcends everything. On every conceivable measure Carney is a better candidate than PP to be Prime Minister. He has the intellect, the resume, the professional background, etc.
But it won't matter... because the single issue that is going to dominate this campaign is who is best to build up Canada and stand up to Trump.
Look at Ford on CNN etc. He is threatening the Americans with pain. He is basically saying, "Go F### yourselves, how dare you hurt the people of Ontario." And he seems sincere.
People want to see this. PP's challenge is convincing voters he will do what Ford has done, on the national stage. That he is not a secret Trump fan or acolyte (a concern I share) but that he will fight for this country. Passionately and sternly.
If he can pull that off, he will still win. Because people want change. He may risk upsetting his nastier base that is pro-Trump or at least Trump-sympathetic. Then again, if he stands up to them, he could look even better to the rest of the country.
Carney looks more and more like yesterday's man to me. A great candidate in the 1990s or even 2000s or 2010s. But I am not at all persuaded he is a true fighter or even has it in him to show he will not take the abuse from Trump. He's too much of a conciliator and negotiator. It's in his core; it's his essence. He is also so boring when he speaks.
If PP fails to make that case, Carney may win by default. Nevertheless, the election is PP's to lose.
Wow. Really? Do you hear yourself? How about what he fucking SAYS, how about the LIFE EXPERIENCE of age (talk about the "arrogance of youth"), not to mention his international, professional, and increasingly relevant, his EUROPEAN experience? And then there's his totally top drawer education.
Who the hell does your generation think you ARE? SO addicted to entertainment and superficiality and self-regard; let me inform you how many of us elders find your need for attention to be alarming, as well as your ADD.
Clearly as parents we made too much of your "self-esteem." Maybe because of the guilt induced by necessary daycare, a departure from what we had known; whatever the reason, you need to start ADULTING now, like never before.
Poilievre is a shallow, nasty punk who has less than nothing to offer and doesn't even accept the reality of the climate change FFS! The climate change that YOUR generation is going to have to endure first hand. Why else would you even CONSIDER him, because he's closer to YOUR age? That's just stupid.
I think this is exactly right. The Conservatives are in a no-win situation. They cannot go back to their usual approach of claiming that any Liberal politician is incompetent. In the current situation I believe it would not even work with Trudeau still being the leader. And when Carney takes over it becomes even harder.
The only way for Poilievre to address the current situation is present an alternative that is politically superior to what the Liberals are proposing. It would probably be something along the lines of Doug Ford threatening to turn off the electricity in parts of the US. It would involve an export tax on oil and gas. The problem for Poilievre is that this will turn off 1/3 to 1/2 of his base. These people believe the Trump nonsense and will drop him like a stone.
On top of that, the trade war may be one of our smaller problems. If the odds are 50-50 that Trump announces the US exit from NATO at the state of the union tonight, we are in for much more trouble than just tariffs and economic hardship. Do you want a proven leader or an apple munching down punching career politician? It is not a hard choice.
My bet would be on Carney winning the leadership race (is there any doubt?), followed by a quick general election resulting in a Liberal majority government.
Not only is Carney a particularly strong candidate if this turns into a “competency” election, but PP is a particularly weak one. I wonder if that isn’t part of why they have been so slow coming out with their usual attack lines? It’s very difficult to find a place to ding Carney where PP doesn’t come off worse
PP graduated, immediately went into lobbying and politics, and in more than twenty years has passed less legislation than Elizabeth May. He can’t even pass his security clearance. He’s accomplished nothing and now feels entitled to a promotion.
If Trump manages to wipe away public concern about Liberal’s previous policies, PP comes off very bad in any ensuing comparison
I think there messaging needs a revamp. They sound like trump at times with the goofy nicknames(i.e. sneaky carney), verb the noun sloganeering and the negativity in general. They should try to humanize Pollievre a bit more to because he looks better when they he posts stuff about his family on X. They also need to find a way to properly deal with the trump threats. If they can sound more like the Harper / Mulroney conservatives they have a good chance of bouncing back.
“If they can sound more like the Harper / Mulroney conservatives…”
… then their base will lose their shit. The things they have to jettison in order to sound reasonable to everyone else are the only things their core base cares about at this point
All of these are fair points (including the comments from other readers), but I think there is a larger issue that transcends everything. On every conceivable measure Carney is a better candidate than PP to be Prime Minister. He has the intellect, the resume, the professional background, etc.
But it won't matter... because the single issue that is going to dominate this campaign is who is best to build up Canada and stand up to Trump.
Look at Ford on CNN etc. He is threatening the Americans with pain. He is basically saying, "Go F### yourselves, how dare you hurt the people of Ontario." And he seems sincere.
People want to see this. PP's challenge is convincing voters he will do what Ford has done, on the national stage. That he is not a secret Trump fan or acolyte (a concern I share) but that he will fight for this country. Passionately and sternly.
If he can pull that off, he will still win. Because people want change. He may risk upsetting his nastier base that is pro-Trump or at least Trump-sympathetic. Then again, if he stands up to them, he could look even better to the rest of the country.
Carney looks more and more like yesterday's man to me. A great candidate in the 1990s or even 2000s or 2010s. But I am not at all persuaded he is a true fighter or even has it in him to show he will not take the abuse from Trump. He's too much of a conciliator and negotiator. It's in his core; it's his essence. He is also so boring when he speaks.
If PP fails to make that case, Carney may win by default. Nevertheless, the election is PP's to lose.
"He is also so boring when he speaks."
Wow. Really? Do you hear yourself? How about what he fucking SAYS, how about the LIFE EXPERIENCE of age (talk about the "arrogance of youth"), not to mention his international, professional, and increasingly relevant, his EUROPEAN experience? And then there's his totally top drawer education.
Who the hell does your generation think you ARE? SO addicted to entertainment and superficiality and self-regard; let me inform you how many of us elders find your need for attention to be alarming, as well as your ADD.
Clearly as parents we made too much of your "self-esteem." Maybe because of the guilt induced by necessary daycare, a departure from what we had known; whatever the reason, you need to start ADULTING now, like never before.
Poilievre is a shallow, nasty punk who has less than nothing to offer and doesn't even accept the reality of the climate change FFS! The climate change that YOUR generation is going to have to endure first hand. Why else would you even CONSIDER him, because he's closer to YOUR age? That's just stupid.
I think this is exactly right. The Conservatives are in a no-win situation. They cannot go back to their usual approach of claiming that any Liberal politician is incompetent. In the current situation I believe it would not even work with Trudeau still being the leader. And when Carney takes over it becomes even harder.
The only way for Poilievre to address the current situation is present an alternative that is politically superior to what the Liberals are proposing. It would probably be something along the lines of Doug Ford threatening to turn off the electricity in parts of the US. It would involve an export tax on oil and gas. The problem for Poilievre is that this will turn off 1/3 to 1/2 of his base. These people believe the Trump nonsense and will drop him like a stone.
On top of that, the trade war may be one of our smaller problems. If the odds are 50-50 that Trump announces the US exit from NATO at the state of the union tonight, we are in for much more trouble than just tariffs and economic hardship. Do you want a proven leader or an apple munching down punching career politician? It is not a hard choice.
My bet would be on Carney winning the leadership race (is there any doubt?), followed by a quick general election resulting in a Liberal majority government.
Not only is Carney a particularly strong candidate if this turns into a “competency” election, but PP is a particularly weak one. I wonder if that isn’t part of why they have been so slow coming out with their usual attack lines? It’s very difficult to find a place to ding Carney where PP doesn’t come off worse
PP graduated, immediately went into lobbying and politics, and in more than twenty years has passed less legislation than Elizabeth May. He can’t even pass his security clearance. He’s accomplished nothing and now feels entitled to a promotion.
If Trump manages to wipe away public concern about Liberal’s previous policies, PP comes off very bad in any ensuing comparison
I think there messaging needs a revamp. They sound like trump at times with the goofy nicknames(i.e. sneaky carney), verb the noun sloganeering and the negativity in general. They should try to humanize Pollievre a bit more to because he looks better when they he posts stuff about his family on X. They also need to find a way to properly deal with the trump threats. If they can sound more like the Harper / Mulroney conservatives they have a good chance of bouncing back.
“If they can sound more like the Harper / Mulroney conservatives…”
… then their base will lose their shit. The things they have to jettison in order to sound reasonable to everyone else are the only things their core base cares about at this point