Have you been watching Poilievre and his caucus loyalists as they huff and puff and fling insults far and wide?
I thought this was the gang who were trying to convince Canadians to give them the keys to the Prime Minister office someday soon. But if this is how they deal with a crisis, well ..... this week hasn't been a good look for them.
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...“Quite honestly, a lot of times I felt it was part of a frat house rather than a serious political party,” d’Entremont said. “It was about who was friends with who,” he said, rattling off the ways in which the Poilievre team went for the low road. “How could you end up beating up on someone else?”
That drew a swift response from the Conservative office in question, which, sorry, kind of proved d’Entremont’s point.
“Chris d’Entremont, who established himself a liar after wilfully deceiving his voters, friends and colleagues because he was upset he didn’t get his coveted deputy speaker role, is now spinning more lies after crossing the floor. He will fit in perfectly in the Liberal caucus,” said the statement, attributed only to a spokesman for the opposition leader’s office.
There was lots more in that interview about what would push a Conservative MP to leave the fold, but this one glimpse doesn’t do anything to make political life look attractive to outsiders. Sure, it’s often more sport than seriousness, especially in question period, but it’s also a workplace, and this is the picture of a toxic one.
Now, it should be said that no party holds a monopoly on virtue in this regard. Heckling and insults fly both ways in the Commons. But d’Entremont was describing the enthusiasm with which his old team has embraced the jugular. Any casual look at the social media feeds of Poilievre’s most ardent minions knows well what he is describing....
Robin Urback in the Globe and Mail:
...Are the Conservatives OK? Do they need a Snickers bar? A hug?
Days after Mr. d’Entremont crossed the floor, Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux, who was rumoured to be crossing the floor as well, announced his resignation from Parliament. His statement opened with a plea to leave his family alone, which is the type of thing someone leaving the Mafia might say, instead of someone leaving a political party. Maybe Mr. Jeneroux is trembling out of excitement for his post-political life? We’ll never know. The Conservatives released their own statement about Mr. Jeneroux’s resignation, claiming that it was “always his intention to leave politics to spend more time with his family.” If the Conservatives had paused for a breath before releasing that statement, they might have realized that claiming that one of their candidates always planned to leave politics six months after an election isn’t a clever form of damage control.
The Conservatives can be angry and smart about their shrinking caucus or they can just be angry. They can knock down doors and brand their former colleague a “liar,” feeding into the worst perceptions that some Canadians have about the party, or they can try to show up as adults. Instead of “Check out this Brutus!” the Conservatives might have tried “We are disappointed Mr. d’Entremont has decided to join the party he recently said was ignoring the cost-of-living concerns of regular Canadians. While Mr. d’Entremont and his new colleagues pile on record debt, the Conservatives remain focused on making life more affordable for the Canadians forced to pay for that debt.” They can try to form unlikely but strategic partnerships with MPs across the aisle (for example, with B.C. NDP MP Gord Johns, whose riding has a sizable Conservative-voting population) and they can demonstrate a relentless focus on the issues, not just their issues.
Perhaps that starts with a snack and a good night’s sleep.
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