, 12.06.2017 08:56 AM

Have the Conservatives scored on Morneau?

I don’t think so.  It’s been bumpy, to be sure.  But – at the end of the day – the Finance Minister is still standing.  And the government would still win as many seats today as they did in 2015.

Warren Kinsella, president of Daisy Consulting and a former Liberal strategist including to former prime minister Jean Chrétien during his time in opposition, said he thinks the Conservatives have misplayed their hand in calling for Mr. Morneau’s resignation last week.

“You don’t haul out your leader to demand a resignation unless you’ve got all the proof you need to justify that, because you can’t make that request twice,” he said. “Their evidence was kind of a lot of the same evidence that they’ve been rolling out for some weeks…where’s the smoking gun?”

 Mr. Kinsella said he thinks while Mr. Morneau has been “knocked around” by the opposition’s line of attack, he thinks calling for the minister’s resignation at this point “actually hurt Scheer.”

“They called for an investigation [by the ethics commissioner] and before it’s even complete they’re demanding the resignation,” he said.

The Conservatives for weeks have levelled criticism and questions over Mr. Morneau’s ethics disclosures, and now the sale of Morneau Shepell shares. Mr. Kinsella said he thinks the sustained, intense focus in part comes down to a lack of positive movement in polls.

“A new leader is supposed to have a honeymoon [in the polls]—Scheer didn’t get one,” he said. “They needed to take a swing.”

8 Comments

  1. whyshouldIsellyourwheat says:

    The Conservatives didn’t call for his resignation so he would resign. They called for his resignation so Trudeau couldn’t move him to another portfolio before the next election.

    They want him as the 2nd face of the Liberal government in the next election campaign (at least in Canada outside of Quebec). The ‘eau bros and their rich, elitist, entitled buddies laying the whip on everyone but themselves.

  2. BlueGritr says:

    Exceptionally good political commentary. Indeed, for the Opposition to save its political hide, it needs to find a way to put a dent in the PM’s popularity and create doubt in his ability to run the country and move it forward. Agreed: going after Morneau isn’t going to change the seat count one bit. Scheer needs a new plan: fast.

    • Luke says:

      I think Scheer’s best chance is the left of centre conundrum that will present itself. From my own point of view, I foresee a difficult choice between Singh’s NDP and Trudeau’s Liberals. Vote splitting blah blah blah.

  3. Luke says:

    Ffs, even that climate change denying loony Terence Corcoran wrote a scathing rebuke of the Conservatives tactics here. So yeah, probably they’re way off.

  4. Doug Brown says:

    Morneau is inflicting enough damage on himself that the Conservative attack hasn’t mattered. How did this guy lead a successful business given his seemingly poor instincts? Probably the same way that a part time drama teacher who dropped out of university twice and never held a full time job became PM (hint: it’s the last name)

  5. Doug Brown says:

    I also agree that the Liberal seat count in 2019 will be similar to that in 2015. Celebrity sells.

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