12.17.2015 09:01 AM

Highly Scientific Polls™: the year’s political best

It’s that time of year, when newspaper space gets filled with Highly-Subjective™ best-of lists.  I have my personal preferences, to be sure, but I wanted to hear from y’all, first. So here’s three Highly-Scientific™ polls, representing three main categories: best politician, best political advisor, and best political campaign strategy.

Now, I would ask that you resist the temptation to do what too many North of the Queensway ink-stained wretches do: that is, call the winners of elections heroes, and dismiss the losers as zeroes.  But you control your cursor, not me.  If you want to be Captain Obvious, that’s your problem.

Herewith and hereupon, then, the Highly-Scientific™ Polls.  Vote now, vote often!

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13 Comments

  1. MississaugaPeter says:

    Without a doubt, Trudeau, Butts, Telford. I would add CalgaryGrit (Dan Arnold) for keeping them on track.

    Helped because Harper was hated by both young and old. Helped by having a photogenic candidate whose dad was prime minister.

    But they prepared him for the debates. Promised the world. Did what they needed to do to win.

    I was not a fan. And I am not a fan of the $25B deficits and the entitlements (2 nannies 4X more than Duffy got from Wright (which didn’t come from our pockets)). But they did what they needed to do to win. And no one else can say the same.

  2. Rodrigo Palau says:

    Premier Rachel Notley. Trudeau’s majority was stunning but in the end it was the Liberals beating a tired Tory government which isn’t that weird. Meanwhile Notley brought the AB NDP to power for the first time and beat over 40 years of PC rule in the province.

    • Dork in East York says:

      I second Notley.

    • Mike says:

      Not to take anything away from Notley, but she beat an even more tired PC government that had been running on fumes for a long time. Let’s not paint it as her slaying a 43 year old dynasty at its peak.

    • Jack D says:

      44 years in power makes the Alberta PC even more of a tired old Tory government. So Rachel Notley’s success, while stunning, seemed inevitable given the utter discontent in Alberta with the PC’s. The NDP’s win was indeed historic and it was monumental for democracy in a province where opposition was essentially non existent. But, the Liberal’s October 19th success was in no way predetermined. The question was “2015’s best politician”; if observed comparatively, Trudeau’s year was much, much more trying than Rachel Notley’s was. The Liberal’s saw their numbers take a nose dive mid-year and Trudeau was edging on the precipice of irrelevance, the tenacity by which he continued on is nothing short of admirable.

      If the question was “best political surprise in 2015” then sure, the AB election would be the choice. But the question is “best politician of 2015”, and without a doubt Justin Trudeau has proved himself to be, hands down, the best person of political acumen of 2015 –having out jousted both Thomas Mulcair and Stephen Harper.

    • Walter Ego says:

      Notley was also my choice, but IMO it was a very close call between her and Trudeau. There’re a remarkable number of parallels between them:
      • Both came from politically significant families
      • Both were leading 3rd parties against well entrenched incumbents. (Technically Notley’s NDP were 4th behind the Alberta Liberals, but at the time those Liberals were pretty much completely ineffective.)
      • Both benefited from miscues and exogenous difficulties on the part of the incumbents and opposition parties they were up against, and both of them effectively exploited their advantages.
      • And of course both were ultimately successful, achieving substantial majorities.

      In the end I gave the not to Nodley, for the marginally consequential reason that her achievement was in reaction to an unexpected snap election where presumably the Prentice Conservatives had the advantage of knowing it was coming and should have been better prepared. But maybe I’m just rationalising, subconsciously resisting being a Captain Obvious.

      Actually, I found it took some reflection to pick a response to each of Warren’s polls; it wasn’t immediately obvious how I felt about any of them. Would have been a different story had he chosen the complementary uncomplimentary alternatives (worst politician, worst advisor, etc.). Instant response, and I wouldn’t be adding any comment!

      BTW, I thought Prentice calling that snap election was the worst political blunder of 2015, and it didn’t even make the CBC’s top 5!

  3. doconnor says:

    2015’s best political campaign strategy: Be the highest polling not Conservatives.

  4. Cath says:

    I vote this post to be the least popular of the year.
    I think people are sick and tired of polls and political ones at that.
    Second only to media spin that is.
    Peace on Earth.

  5. Adam says:

    Well, I took your advice to heart and didnt just vote for the winner. For best politician, I voted not for the one best at winning elections but for the one who I believe contributes most valuably to political discussion. For me, that is Elizabeth May, although clearlly in terms of election success she is a disaster. The other two were concerned with campaigns, and I cannot but agree that the NDP campaign in Alberta was brilliant. As for best campaign strategy, I am quite impressed with Trudeau’s pledge not to go negative followed by a pretty kick ass attack during debates.

    As for worst campaign strategies – Harper’s strategy was evil but could have worked, and probably did work to staunch some of the bleeding. The NDP campaign, which aped the Tories in too many redpects, was absolutely awful.

  6. Adele says:

    My vote was for Premier – I was thinking Christy Clark, not the nitwit leading Ont, with Harper a close second choice.

    • Jack D says:

      LOL.

      I’d ask you to follow your choice up with an explanation but I predict it’ll spiral into a rant about the undesirability of immigrants with their barbaric cultural practices and how unready Justin Trudeau is.

  7. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    In my book, the winners are usually the best if they meet certain provisos: the best politician has to be smart enough to know that he or she has to take political advice. He or she also has to know instinctively when not to follow that advice;

    The best advisor always gives his or her best advice. He or she will also know if it should be given, if it is somehow not politically advantageous;

    The best campaign strategy must always be the right thing to do. However, it must also be seen through the lens as a barn-burner of a vote-getter.

  8. SG says:

    Latest poll puts the NDP at a dismal 13%. If Justin keeps up his lefty social-engineering and special interests variety show for the next 4 years, he will doubtless turn off some of the less-left-wing flank who voted Liberal this time, but he may well wipe the NDP from the map.

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