This week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper demonstrated how well he understands this. The decision to rename the forces and return the royal designation was a stellar example of targeting wedge audiences to win converts and solidify political bases.
In this case, the announcement did not necessarily attract new support. Chances are those Canadians who embraced the decision were already voting Conservative.
But the opportunity to drive a stake through the heart of those hated Liberals was an opportunity not to be missed.
It is not lost on the Prime Minister that he is still competing with the late Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau for his place in history. Just last week, an online poll placed Harper as number two behind Trudeau as Canada's best prime minister. In Harper's case, his numbers for best prime minister actually equalled his numbers for worst prime minister, a fact that garnered scant public mention.
One thing is certain. Trudeau's popularity has stood the test of time. So at the same time as Conservative strategists were analyzing prime ministerial numbers, they were rolling out a communications strategy designed to erode Trudeau's reputation.
Some of us are actually old enough to remember the decision on unification of the armed forces announced by then Defence minister Paul Hellyer. At the time, Hellyer was the driving force behind unification and to this day, he still believes the decision was the right thing. But Hellyer, a Liberal who became an independent, and then a Conservative, does not provide the necessary narrative for last week's royal intervention.
A larger than life politician in his own right, Hellyer marched to his own drummer. At the time of his first election as a Member of Parliament in the riding of Davenport, Hellyer was the youngest person ever elected to the House of Commons. An engineer who also possessed his own pilot's licence, Hellyer sat in the House of Commons as a Liberal, ran for the leadership and subsequently left the party to sit as an independent. After forming his own political party, Action Canada, he eventually joined the Progressive Conservative caucus at the invitation of Tory leader Robert Stanfield.
After losing his own seat in the 1974 Liberal landslide, Hellyer ran for the Tory leadership in 1976, attacking Red Tories for not being Conservative enough.
As a young journalism student working for the Hamilton Spectator, I interviewed Heller in his cross Canada quest to promote his new political party. He was dynamic, charismatic, and utterly committed to the decision of the merged military.
Public dissent, particularly from veterans' organizations, did not dissuade him in his view that unification was the right thing to do.
The move was his lasting legacy. He was certainly not acting as a Trudeau surrogate. But in all the news coverage of the change last week, little attention was paid to Hellyer. Most eyes were on Trudeau.
The public could be forgiven for mistakenly thinking that Trudeau was behind the dreaded unification decision. That was the story successfully spun out by the Conservatives and dutifully covered in newscasts and reports on the military announcement.
The simplicity of the message epitomized wedge politics that Harper is famous for. Love Tories, hate Trudeau.
But there is a slight problem of historical accuracy. Trudeau was chosen Liberal leader at a convention in May, 1968, the same convention where Hellyer ran second on the first ballot.
Hellyer was defence minister in the government of prime minister Lester Pearson when the Canadian Forces Reorganisation Act received Royal Assent On February 1, 1968. His legislation was a follow-up to a 1964 White Paper on Defence, which he tabled in the House of Commons on March 26, 1964. Trudeau wasn't even elected to Parliament until the following year.
So was the Tory spin last week, linking Trudeau to military unification a simple historical mistake? Undoubtedly not. The Prime Minister has already established the annihilation of the Liberal Party as one of his personal political goals.
Trudeau's ongoing popularity stands in the way of that goal. So, attacking Trudeau, and aligning him with unpopular Liberal measures, chips away at his legacy.
In addition, those who dislike the return of the Royal designation are unlikely to spend much time worrying about it. But supportive veterans groups and military buffs will be motivated to support the party that brought the name change about.
A well-placed wedge can boost morale, memberships and money.
There is more to a name than meets the eye.
Origin
Source: Hill Times
In this case, the announcement did not necessarily attract new support. Chances are those Canadians who embraced the decision were already voting Conservative.
But the opportunity to drive a stake through the heart of those hated Liberals was an opportunity not to be missed.
It is not lost on the Prime Minister that he is still competing with the late Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau for his place in history. Just last week, an online poll placed Harper as number two behind Trudeau as Canada's best prime minister. In Harper's case, his numbers for best prime minister actually equalled his numbers for worst prime minister, a fact that garnered scant public mention.
One thing is certain. Trudeau's popularity has stood the test of time. So at the same time as Conservative strategists were analyzing prime ministerial numbers, they were rolling out a communications strategy designed to erode Trudeau's reputation.
Some of us are actually old enough to remember the decision on unification of the armed forces announced by then Defence minister Paul Hellyer. At the time, Hellyer was the driving force behind unification and to this day, he still believes the decision was the right thing. But Hellyer, a Liberal who became an independent, and then a Conservative, does not provide the necessary narrative for last week's royal intervention.
A larger than life politician in his own right, Hellyer marched to his own drummer. At the time of his first election as a Member of Parliament in the riding of Davenport, Hellyer was the youngest person ever elected to the House of Commons. An engineer who also possessed his own pilot's licence, Hellyer sat in the House of Commons as a Liberal, ran for the leadership and subsequently left the party to sit as an independent. After forming his own political party, Action Canada, he eventually joined the Progressive Conservative caucus at the invitation of Tory leader Robert Stanfield.
After losing his own seat in the 1974 Liberal landslide, Hellyer ran for the Tory leadership in 1976, attacking Red Tories for not being Conservative enough.
As a young journalism student working for the Hamilton Spectator, I interviewed Heller in his cross Canada quest to promote his new political party. He was dynamic, charismatic, and utterly committed to the decision of the merged military.
Public dissent, particularly from veterans' organizations, did not dissuade him in his view that unification was the right thing to do.
The move was his lasting legacy. He was certainly not acting as a Trudeau surrogate. But in all the news coverage of the change last week, little attention was paid to Hellyer. Most eyes were on Trudeau.
The public could be forgiven for mistakenly thinking that Trudeau was behind the dreaded unification decision. That was the story successfully spun out by the Conservatives and dutifully covered in newscasts and reports on the military announcement.
The simplicity of the message epitomized wedge politics that Harper is famous for. Love Tories, hate Trudeau.
But there is a slight problem of historical accuracy. Trudeau was chosen Liberal leader at a convention in May, 1968, the same convention where Hellyer ran second on the first ballot.
Hellyer was defence minister in the government of prime minister Lester Pearson when the Canadian Forces Reorganisation Act received Royal Assent On February 1, 1968. His legislation was a follow-up to a 1964 White Paper on Defence, which he tabled in the House of Commons on March 26, 1964. Trudeau wasn't even elected to Parliament until the following year.
So was the Tory spin last week, linking Trudeau to military unification a simple historical mistake? Undoubtedly not. The Prime Minister has already established the annihilation of the Liberal Party as one of his personal political goals.
Trudeau's ongoing popularity stands in the way of that goal. So, attacking Trudeau, and aligning him with unpopular Liberal measures, chips away at his legacy.
In addition, those who dislike the return of the Royal designation are unlikely to spend much time worrying about it. But supportive veterans groups and military buffs will be motivated to support the party that brought the name change about.
A well-placed wedge can boost morale, memberships and money.
There is more to a name than meets the eye.
Origin
Source: Hill Times
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