Red Tories Must Prevail

At the time of the coalition between the Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party the Alliance was a dead-ended regional party with declining fortunes. It was probably only an election away from extinction. Along comes Peter Mackay and obligingly provides cheap accommodation and another incarnation. Though they have changed their name (but one more time), Alliance values dominate this new party. As events of the last few months have been damaging to the governing Liberal Party, so too has the newly-minted CPC brought disgrace upon itself. When Paul Martin made the reasonable request that judgment be deferred until the Gomery inquiry was complete, Harper’s Conservatives were not to be deterred in their cynical opportunism. When Belinda Stronach tried to caution her leader that toppling the government at this time was not wise she was met with scorn and derision. Harper, who at this point is an experienced politician, forgot his own party is new and in itself a coalition, and charged blindly ahead. Instead of consolidating his coalition he recklessly fractured it, losing a key caucus member at a crucial time; and went on to lose the confidence vote. Whatever Stronach’s motives, her defection served the national interest. To have an election now would be utterly destructive to the country, further empowering the BQ, resulting in another minority government, and the possibility that Harper’s Conservatives might be asked to form government - a party clearly not ready to assume governance. This was to be the big tent party – a home for all conservatives. Stronach’s defection proves it is not. It appears rigidly authoritarian and surely the last bastion of ribald sexism. As she crossed the floor of the House there was no shortage of sexist slurs on her character from eminent conservatives across the country. The abusive ghost of Reform/Alliance persists. While Peter Mackay plays the role of the forlorn lover betrayed it is hard to have much sympathy for him. Now, maybe, he has some empathy for the members of the late Progressive Conservative Party who, thanks to him, saw their party stripped from under them. For a deputy leader to enter into a romantic liaison with a caucus member is less than wise. Romancing colleagues doesn’t wash well at the office and it certainly doesn’t enhance Parliament as we see our national legislature turned into a soap opera. If Stronach is the “blonde bimbo,” Mackay could be cast as the potato head from Nova Scotia. He suffers from cyclical bad judgment. As the Opposition tried to win a vote of non-confidence, polls showed Canadians did not see the Conservatives under Harper as an acceptable replacement, and rightly so. In its present form the CPC is not a party for the future but one of the past. It is at odds with the very precepts of conservatism, with a corrupted value system. It does not have the discipline or moral authority to be an effective opposition. The Reform/Alliance keeps shedding its skin but is still the awkward squad practising the politics of vindictiveness. Equanimity is a quality that eludes it. Harper has shown he does not have the political skills or acumen to be an effective Leader of the Opposition, let alone be handed the keys to Sussex Drive. This was his acid test and he failed it. Peter Mackay allowed the Alliance takeover of his party and left it to dominate this coalition. Mackay would be wise to do some soul-searching of his role as capitulator and deputy leader in this failed and ill-advised power grab. The Canadian ideal is peace, order and good government. Intrinsic to this is a vigorous and healthy two-party system, which through most of our history we have enjoyed. Now, however, the choice is between corrupt undeserving Liberals and incompetent Conservatives of an aberrant type. As long as this coalition is dominated by the Reform/Alliance the Conservative Party of Canada will not form government. Martin’s Liberal government has gained a reprieve - a stay of execution - and it must now prove itself. For a bumbling Conservative opposition there is no such reprieve. It must purge its leadership, let its moderate Red Tories come to the forefront, and patiently prove itself worthy of forming government. Canadians will not settle for less. Sincerely, Robert Billyard Langley BC May 21st 2005 [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on May 23, 2005]