mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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 Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 4:23 am Post subject: Ha ha ha, Globe and Mail |
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Check this article out (but pay close attention, because I'm going to take an axe to it in a moment):
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Tory insiders upset with party leadership
Members are questioning Harper's ability to successfully lead the party in an election
By GLORIA GALLOWAY
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Updated at 6:33 AM EDT
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Ottawa — Political knives are out for Stephen Harper as his federal Conservatives sink deeper in the polls, and the sharpest weapons are being brandished by members of his own party.
"There is a lot of discontent with the turn of things. People are saying it's time to replace the leader," said one key Conservative organizer in Toronto who, like many others, asked not to be named because it could hurt his status in the party.
Just a few months ago, Mr. Harper won the support of 84 per cent of party members at a policy convention. Although a recent poll puts the Conservatives eight percentage points behind the Liberals and suggests that six in 10 Canadians have a negative view of Mr. Harper, he can be unseated only if he decides to step aside.
"Stephen Harper surely is going to get another chance to lead the party into an election," said Sid Noel, a political science professorat the University of Western Ontario. "It would be extraordinary for the party to dispense with the leader when he came very close in the last election."
But, behind the scenes, party members from coast to coast are pointing fingers and asking why opinion surveys have the Tories battling for third place nationally when the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal should still be tarring the Liberals with the stigma of corruption.
Dissatisfaction with Mr. Harper's leadership "started expanding with the Belinda [Stronach] defection and then it continued to expand when we didn't get our [confidence] vote passed [on May 19] and a lot of people in the party are tired of waiting," said one organizer, who also asked to remain anonymous.
"This guy was supposed to be the answer, and, instead of being 20 points up in the polls which should be happening with the way things are in the Liberal Party, he's eight points down in the polls. Like, what the hell?"
Much of the anger from the grassroots is being directed not just at Mr. Harper but also at the tight circle of advisers around him. There are suggestions that key staff members could be replaced soon, all of which have been hotly denied. "I supported the merger [that created the Conservative Party], but at this point it's beginning to look like it's been a horrible waste of time," said Ed Adlers, a former Toronto riding association president. "It's rapidly starting to go downhill and the people that are in control right now don't appear to be very interested or concerned about pulling it up."
As party members grumble about their leader's performance, rumours also abound about campaigns to replace him.
One of the more widely circulated stories appeared yesterday on the Bourque website – a website that Canadian politicians and political junkies pay much attention to. It said that Jim Flaherty, the former Ontario provincial cabinet minister and leadership contender, met with other Conservatives at the posh home of retail heiress Nicky Eaton to discuss his chances. Mr. Flaherty said yesterday he was both "flabbergasted" by the story and unaware of such a meeting.
"I'm not about to get into a leadership race," he said. "I support Stephen. I think he's getting a raw deal right now and he's a much better leader than he's being given credit for and I'm 100 per cent behind him. That's why I'm running federally."
Tony Clement, who ran against Mr. Harper for the party's leadership, was also said to have attended the meeting. He said yesterday he has been to many soirées at the home of Ms. Eaton but has never discussed Mr. Flaherty's leadership aspirations. "A meeting to discuss Jim Flaherty running for federal leader?" Mr. Clement said. "I've never been involved in any of those discussions in my life."
Another rumour had Peter MacKay, the deputy party leader, meeting in Toronto last weekend to test the waters for himself.
Not true, said Michael Bailey, Mr. MacKay's assistant. "Peter was in Nova Scotia all day Saturday and he was in Halifax Saturday afternoon for the [CFL] football game and then he was in Montreal for the Grand Prix [on Sunday]," Mr. Bailey said.
"He was nowhere near Toronto."
Still, Conservatives in every region say there are attempts to mobilize against Mr. Harper. But "there's no way he's going to go easily," said one in Toronto. "Nobody wants to be the first person to bell the cat."
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IOW, two anonymous sources and a riding association guy voice concerns about Harper - the Globe and Mail phones three people they suspect might be interested in being the next leader. Two are quoted (paraphrased) as: WTF are you talking about?! - and the other one is on vacation.
Gooood, the force is strooong with this article, say the editors and it was put on the front of the web site.
(For those who don't know, Globe and Mail is Canada's first national newspaper)
Let's check www.bourque.org, the source quoted above:
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FLAHERTY PLOTS HARPER OVERTHROW ?
BOMBSHELL EXCLUSIVE: Bourque has learned that longtime Ontario Cabinet Minister and two-time provincial leadership contender Jim Flaherty may well be positioning himself for an early opportunity to unseat Stephen Harper, the disappointing Conservative Party incumbent, increasingly seen as a lame duck leader who's  political capital may well have expired with his botched handling of recent national antagonism towards the long-governing Liberals. Sources tell Bourque that failed retail heiress Nicky Eaton hosted a swish gathering at her country estate in Caledon for Flaherty's intimates to discuss a bid for Harper's job. Present and accounted for included Tony Clement, recently disclosed as a recipient of Liberal CabMin Belinda Stronach's largess, and our old friend Tom Long, the Gaspesian Undertaker and defrocked Tory "strategist". As for Mulroney Senate appointee Consiglio DiNino, he tells Bourque in a fiery email late this afternoon that "I know nothing about the alleged gathering hosted by Nicky Eaton and was not in attendance at any such event." It is , however, understood that close supporters of Deputy Conservative Leader Peter MacKay, New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord, and former CA leader Stockwell Day may also be quietly testing the leadership waters. Developing ... |
PS the site quoted there is about 70% as popular as Dave's ESL cafe. |
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