But Mr. Mulcair (Outremont, Que.), who took on the government for the time as the new Opposition Leader in the Commons on Monday, suggested after his first Question Period in that role that, unlike a string of Liberal leaders the Conservative attack machine dismembered over the past three federal elections, it won’t be so easy this time.
“They’re very good at defining their adversaries. We’re going to start to define them,” Mr. Mulcair told a crush of reporters after he used his first three questions as the new opposition leader to press the government over unemployment, youth job losses and the bitter Air Canada labour dispute.
A string of prominent NDP MPs, including MP and leadership candidate Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley, B.C.), who finished third to Mr. Mulcair, rallied behind him, telling The Hill Times that, despite the media focus on the resignation of two senior backroomers following Mr. Mulcair’s victory, the New Democrat caucus is unified and ready to take Mr. Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) on in the battle the Conservative Party started soon after Mr. Mulcair’s acceptance speech.
“They can say what they want, it’s not going to stop us from taking them on,” said NDP MP Libby Davies (Vancouver East, B.C.), who Mr. Mulcair re-affirmed as the party’s deputy leader despite her decision to support his chief opponent, former party president Brian Topp, early in the leadership contest.
“What the Conservatives do and the way they behave reflects more on them than it does on us,” Ms. Davies said. “They are so negative. They are so ungracious that I think it has more to do with their kind of nasty politics, and the way they operate. We feel strong, we feel very positive about what we’re doing."
The speed with which the Conservative Party leapt on Mr. Mulcair over the weekend surprised even some of the more jaundiced reporters on Parliament Hill, coming as it did in the midst of a separate campaign the party recently launched against interim Liberal leader Bob Rae (Toronto Centre, Ont.), focusing on his trouble-plagued term as Ontario NDP premier two decades ago.
“The NDP have chosen Thomas Mulcair to push their agenda of high taxes, high spending and less economic growth,” the Conservative Party said in a “talking points” bulletin circulated to selected journalists on Saturday night. “Thomas Mulcair is an opportunist whose high tax agenda, blind ambition, and divisive personality would put Canadian families and their jobs at risk.”
The message also accused Mr. Mulcair of planning to reinstate the federal gun long-gun registry the Conservative government plans to dismantle and being “soft on crime,” a phrase the Conservative Party used repeatedly to brand the opposition parties in last year’s federal election.
Mr. Harper was not in the House to field Mr. Mulcair’s first questions as opposition leader. In Asia last week and over the weekend for bilateral leader visits and a summit in South Korea over nuclear arms and uranium control, the Prime Minister is not expected to be in Question Period until Wednesday.
But NDP MP Yvon Godin (Acadie-Bathhurst, N.B.), the former NDP whip who also backed Mr. Topp, pointed out Mr. Harper has known the date of the NDP leadership election for six months, that he likely could have arranged his affairs to be on hand, and that he likely approved the attack message before the Conservative Party released it.
Mr. Godin acknowledged negative Conservative attacks damaged the image of the past two Liberal leaders, Michael Ignatieff and Stephane Dion (Saint Laurent-Cartierville, Que.), but added: “Maybe Canadians are sick and tired of it. Here is a new person and they do those attacks. They have nothing to do with the direction we’re going and what we want to do for Canadians. When they do that it’s because they cannot debate the real issue.”
He said he has no doubt Mr. Harper approved the attack against Mr. Mulcair.
“I really believe he’s behind it because he’s a controller. He’s a guy who controls from the PMO,” Mr. Godin said. “They would not do that without the permission of Mr. Harper. They would not do it. He knew the date of this election for six months. He could have been in the House of Commons today to get the questions from the official opposition and the new leader of the official opposition.”
Mr. Cullen told The Hill Times the tactic may backfire on the Conservatives, because it indicates Mr. Harper may be concerned Mr. Mulcair, whose reputation as a tenacious fighter, may be more effective then either Mr. Ignatieff or Mr. Dion as on opposition leader.
“I think, as usual, it says so much more about them than it does about us, but it shows actually a certain element of fear,” Mr. Cullen said. “This is a very different conversation we’re about to have then they had with Mr. Dion or others. We know what to expect, we’re ready for it and we’ll defend our leader.”
Mr. Rae, with years of experience as a politician under his belt, has dominated in toe-to-toe debates with Mr. Harper in the Commons, but his rapid-fire talents and depth are in a way less effective as leader of the third party in the Commons.
NDP MPs Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, Man.), who remained neutral through the race, and Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, B.C.), who backed Mr. Mulcair, also said the caucus has united behind Mr. Mulcair, and a unified party will help the new party leader combat the Conservative assault.
“It’s deeply felt, it’s sincere and it’s an imperative,” Mr. Davies said. “We all recognize that. You look at the Liberal Party and you can see the divisiveness and destruction that happens when they have internal strife, and people fight leadership debates for years.”
“That’s one of the reasons the Liberal Party finds themselves in the position they’re in today,” Mr. Davies said.
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: Tim Naumetz
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