Probably no other leader, including Justin Trudeau, has landed in a party leadership with less real-world work experience than Pierre Poilievre, says Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca. But Poilievre’s an able communicator, and this weekend’s Conservative convention is a golden opportunity for him to sell himself as PM-in-waiting.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Probably no other leader, including Justin Trudeau with his modest drama teacher resume, has landed in a party leadership with less real-world work experience than Poilievre, who did little more than spend a couple years as a political staffer on Parliament Hill before becoming an MP.
And there’s no small irony to see Poilievre leading the feel-your-pain charge to find affordable housing while living in relative luxury of the well-staffed Official Opposition Leader’s mansion courtesy of taxpayers.
Of course, it’s great fun to bash the Bank of Canada governor for boosting interest rates to tame inflation, pledge to axe the carbon tax and blame demon gatekeepers for every bureaucratic obstruction to throwing up affordable housing boom on every vacant lot.
And how to unleash a house-building frenzy without protective bureaucrats when any rush to mass construction clearly requires adult supervision, as Ontario Premier Doug Ford so dangerously discovered in his greenbelt housing debacle.
So far, Poilievre seems disinclined to pivot policy in any direction, partly because his own MPs are worried their nominations to carry the Conservative banner into the next election will face the wrath of forces further right should party positions soften.
But as Poilievre reigns over his first convention, there’s little doubt that the snivelling political operative who regularly called me 20 years ago to complain about negative coverage of then-boss Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day is grown up and ready for a prime-time showdown.
The original article contains 808 words, the summary contains 238 words. Saved 71%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!