How the Tories can win
Stephen Harper needs to abandon safe, negative politics and show people the visionary that he can be

Adam Daifallah
Ottawa Citizen

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

An American political consultant once said something like: pollsters look to the next poll, politicians look to the next election, and statesman look to the next generation. The point was to highlight that modern politics is not conducive to producing statesmen. In today's 10-second sound bite culture, long-term thinking is out of the question.

In the imminent election campaign that will start tomorrow, Stephen Harper should prove this notion wrong. It won't be easy, but if he wants to be Canada's next prime minister, he must. For if Mr. Harper wants to win, he must articulate and champion a set of visionary ideas that will really get Canadians talking.

This would require a clear shift in strategy for the Tories.

For the past couple of years, the party has focused on highlighting Liberal corruption and opposing same-sex marriage. This strategy has created three problems, all of which remain unresolved and continue to plague Mr. Harper.

One, Canadians know little about what he actually stands for: they only know what he is against. Two, the Liberals and the media defined the Tory leader before he could do so himself, which explains his personal unpopularity and the Tories' inability to break 30 per cent in polls. And three, the party has not been able to attract new support because it has failed to reach out to new constituencies. Most people who oppose same-sex marriage are already voting Tory. The party has to move beyond that base.

On the first point, opposing government initiatives is fine; that is what the opposition is supposed to do. But when an alternative plan is not advanced, Canadians are left with no choice but to endorse the status quo.

As a friend remarked, if Canadians are given a choice between something mediocre but certain and something unknown, they will choose mediocre-but-certain. Canadians know the Liberals are corrupt. Now Mr. Harper has to give them a reason to kick them out of office.

History shows that conservative parties win when they offer hope for the future and play up patriotism. Ronald Reagan spoke of America as a "shining city upon a hill.'' Margaret Thatcher's first election platform in 1979 started out by stating: "It is the task of the Conservative party today to restore hope and confidence to a disillusioned British people.'' Mike Harris, who won back-to-back majority provincial governments in the 1990s, used to say his goal was to make his province "the best place to live in, work and raise a family.''

All these leaders used powerful, positive language to explain how conservative policies offer a chance for a better future. Mr. Harper has not done that. He has appeared negative and grumpy. Even Prime Minister Paul Martin has noticed. In the summer of 2004, he reportedly told a caucus meeting that "people see hope in us. Stephen Harper has never talked about hope.''

For part two, Mr. Harper must just start being himself. His summer barbecue tour and other attempts at image rehabilitation have not worked because they were not sincere. Stephen Harper is an intellectual. He is a principled man with passionate views and great ideas. He displayed them when he was a Reform party MP in the 1990s and after that as head of the National Citizens Coalition. He should come out of his shell and just be himself. Canadians will like him a lot more.

On the third point, the Conservatives must talk less about same-sex marriage and the sponsorship scandal and look at policies on topics they have neglected in the past. Professing a high regard for tax cuts is not enough.

Everyone already knows the Tories will cut taxes. Now they need some innovative and counterintuitive policies in areas such as social policy, the environment, immigration and Quebec that will bring in new voters.

Instead of harping on same-sex marriage, why not promote the virtues of marriage and family, no matter whether they be straight or gay? Everyone can agree that strong families are the foundation of our society. Mr. Harper should talk about the need to encourage more marriage, less divorce and more child-rearing. Let Paul Martin try to characterize that as extreme!

On the environment, the Tories should champion free-market environmental reforms as a counterpoint to the big-government interventionism of the Kyoto Accord. Canadians care about the environment and the Conservatives have ceded too much ground to the Liberals and the NDP here. The transit- tax rebate idea Mr. Harper announced last summer was a great start, but a fuller vision is required.

Lastly, Mr. Harper should cast himself as a nationalist. He should talk more about Canadian unity and the real need to make changes to the federation.

Yes, this is potentially radioactive ground. But the lingering issue of Quebec's place in Canada continues to hamper the advancement of conservatism. It must be addressed. The Tories will not make a strong breakthrough in la belle province until that issue is dealt with. And it is no longer just about Quebec --there is increasing frustration with the state of confederation in the West, too.

Saying that people are tired of "politics as usual'' has become a cliche. If it were ever true, Canadians have never really done much about it. But this time, there may be a real appetite for something new.

Forget the polls and focus groups. People want a leader who will lead, someone who cares about more than just winning an election. They are ready for a statesman. With a clear, positive vision and some creative policies. Stephen Harper can be that man.