Never mind the Tory leader you saw in the last provincial election, when he blew a big lead and gave the Liberals another term in power. Next time — which could be any time if the minority government falls over its spring budget — Hudak vows to give voters a clearer choice.
But the new, improved Hudak will not try to pass himself off as a kinder, gentler, New Age Tory. Instead, he is going back to the future — to an era many Progressive Conservatives spent the past decade trying to distance themselves from: Welcome back to a more muscular, straight-shooting, no-nonsense tone perfected by one of his more successful political mentors.
The Mike Harris style — and substance — are back.
“I think Mike’s advice is almost always — no surprise to you — is to put out what you believe in and you fight for it, and you attract attention from those who will oppose that agenda or have their own,” Hudak says in his third-floor Queen’s Park office, just above the premier’s suite he one day hopes to occupy.
Interviewed in the same spot two years ago, the rookie Tory leader had insisted, defensively, that he was his own man — disowning the legacy of the controversial premier who ruled Ontario from 1995-2003.
Now, outwardly, Hudak embraces his inner Harris. And doesn’t duck the question about the advice he’s getting from the man who took the province by storm nearly two decades ago:
“Mike’s themes tend to be around, ‘Fight for things that you believe in,’ and, ‘People know when you believe in something and when you don’t,’ and, ‘Be courageous,’ and, ‘It takes time.’ ” Hudak recalls.
“It’s a good sign when you’re eliciting some debate because it means you’re thinking boldly and you have a different plan than the other two parties,” the former party leader has told him.
“The other advice is, ‘Have some patience.’ I mean, Mike was somebody who wandered around, as you said, in church basements.”
In place of Harris’s Common Sense Revolution that electrified voters in the mid-1990s, Hudak has methodically compiled a dozen “white papers” overflowing with provocative proposals to kick off discussion. Hard-right ideas — like selling off electrical utilities, or right-to-work laws allowing employees to opt out of unions — have garnered headlines.
The party’s formal campaign platform will be released later, closer to an election date, but it is already crystallizing: “It will be a very honed document around jobs and the economy, and around government that spends within its means,” Hudak says.
As he travels the province, Hudak is absorbing the full Tory playbook by osmosis. A politician who obsesses about being fully briefed and mastering the material, he is gaining confidence as he meets newspaper editorial boards and faces talk radio audiences.
One priority that won’t be scaled back is tax cuts. One of his early white papers proposed reducing income taxes, corporate rates, or the HST. Hudak still won’t say which one he’ll choose, but is promising “substantial tax relief” to set himself apart from the other parties. “Stay tuned on that one, pal.”
On road tolls, Hudak keeps repeating publicly, implausibly, that he’d first eliminate all government waste before resorting to special revenue sources to pay for transit or roads. When pressed, however, Hudak concedes he would consider tolls for any new roads.
“It’s been long-standing PC policy — right? — as an option to help finance. It depends where they are. There has to be a business case, whether it’s tolls, whether it’s shadow tolls,” Hudak says. “Other things? Listen, I’m going to listen to the debate, I’ll follow it, I just — this is the last step that anybody should take.”
Hudak has been criticized for taking himself out of play for much of this minority legislature, refusing to support the last budget or consider the coming one (hence losing any leverage to extract concessions from Premier Kathleen Wynne.) But with the controversy over cancelled gas plants creating a foul odour over the Liberal government, and perhaps tainting the New Democrats for propping it up, Hudak is happy to keep his distance for now.
He has been invited to Wynne’s second-floor office several times to see whether they could find common ground, but the outcome is always the same:
“I say this, she says ‘No.’ And she says, ‘How about this,’ and I say, ‘No.’ And then we agree to disagree, and talk about other things,” Hudak tells me.
But what if Hudak wins the next election and falls short of a majority (which seems increasingly elusive for any party?) If he’s the odd man out now, can he make minority government work if the roles are ever reversed?
“Absolutely. I’ve been around this place and I know how to get government moving,” he answers carefully.
In the past, Hudak has avoided any hypothetical questions about falling short of a majority. This time, he replies precisely:
“Let’s be clear. It has to be in the direction of creating more jobs and making sure government spends within its means,” he says. “And you know what? I think there’s always room to work in those areas, whatever the two parties happen to be.”
Hmmm. Making minority government work somehow seems more workable when you’re the premier in power.
Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Martin Regg Cohn
No comments:
Post a Comment