Chantal Hébert
OTTAWA - Six months into Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion's tenure, the best that can be said about his party's fortunes is that they are only as flat as those of the Conservatives. Over the past year, neither of the main parties in the House of Commons has managed to move the needle its way.
But if some of the top reasons for the stall in Conservative support are policy-related, the same cannot be said of the Liberals who sit on the popular side of most national arguments, starting with the environment and Canada's role in Afghanistan. And while the party does share that territory with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois, neither can be described as being on a roll these days.
Dion also has the benefit of the stronger team in Parliament. His seatmates bring more governing experience to their tasks in opposition and larger profiles nationally. Yet none of that is translating into a surge in support.
Some of Dion's current challenges are predicaments familiar to former leaders of the opposition of every persuasion.
All leaders need time to grow into their jobs and, in the past, it is those who have had the luxury of doing so who have tended to be successful on the election trail.
In Dion's case, the more obvious kinks are in the process of being ironed out.
http://www.thestar.com/article/223880
This article reminds me a bit about the time Chantal Hébert was on on “Tout le monde en parle”. On that she eluded to English speaking youth in Canada are turning to the Liberal party as their party of choice and that the more activist people are turning to the Greens and this was squeezing out the NDP. But there was a look of horror on the rest of the panels faces. (A sort of : The Liberal Party ?!! WTF? OMG!)
It really hit home just how “hated” that brand can be…
I suppose it’s good news for the other parties. But let’s wait and see how the new political map in Canada gets worked out. It’s not immediately obvious!
