Harper is a hit when viewed from afar.

This is from the Calgary Herald via canada.com
The Herald obviously knows nothing of whereof it is speaking. If Harper were so popular here he would have already forced an election to get a majority. His party is in a dead heat now with the Liberals who are such wimps they should probably be in the Guiness Book of World Records. They should raise money by selling " I am a green shift wimp" buttons seeing they are both in the red and being sued.


Saturday » July 12 » 2008

Stephen Harper is a hit when viewed from afar

Barbara Yaffe
Calgary Herald
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Is Stephen Harper under-appreciated by Canadians for being all too familiar? It would seem so, to read London's Telegraph newspaper, an excerpt of which was dispatched this week to columnists like me by none other than prime ministerial communications rep Ryan Sparrow.
The Telegraph, looking in on the G-8 summit in Japan, reflected on Monday that "Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel and Gordon Brown are disliked at home; George Bush is a lame duck; Silvio Berlusconi is changing the law to indemnify himself; Dmitri Medvedev is regarded as Vladimir Putin's creature . . . ."
In fact, says the article, "of all the leaders, only Stephen Harper -- the talented but curiously neglected Canadian prime minister -- is able to point to a popular and successful record in office."
The article describes Harper as quiet and courteous, and opines that he has properly turned his government's attention to putting its own affairs in order, reducing taxes and keeping spending in check.
Yet another kudo: under Harper, Canadians have been "playing their full role in world affairs, notably in Afghanistan."
Well, now: Conservatives have indeed reduced taxes somewhat. But their record on keeping spending in check is hardly sterling.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation calculates that, in their first year in office, Conservatives presided over a 7.1 per cent spending jump. Last year, 4.5 per cent. This year, a 4.2 per cent hike.
Moreover, the government has been broadly criticized for putting Canada within spitting distance of running another deficit.
As for playing our full role in Afghanistan, an Angus Reid poll this week found 73 per cent of Canadians believe Canada is playing too great a role, bearing too much of the load of the NATO mission -- a fully justifiable viewpoint given our outsized casualty list.
Another poll, released Tuesday by Harris-Decima, reveals the Conservatives continue to lag in popularity. They are locked in a horse race with the Liberals, a party with weak leadership and lacking a comprehensive policy platform to distinguish themselves from the government. The poll's latest sounding showed Liberals at 31 per cent to the Conservatives' 30 per cent.
Says a Harris-Decima news release: "Looking back since the fall session began, it is clear that the Conservatives have lost ground among (two) strategically critical groups."
The party has lost an advantage it held with non-separatist Quebecers. Last September, Conservatives enjoyed a 15 point advantage over the Liberals. Now, the parties are tied.
Conservatives also trail the Liberals by 10 points among urban women, a fairly hefty demographic.
This might not be so worrying for the government were it not for its precarious position in seat-rich Ontario, where they've been unable to pull ahead of the Liberals.
"The trends for the Conservatives in recent weeks have been among the most troubling they have faced since taking office," said Harris-Decima president Bruce Anderson.
From a closeup perspective, the Conservative government has put in a fairly credible, largely scandal-free performance since the election in 2006. Harper has mainly followed an unspectacular middle-of-the-road policy course.
But in certain key areas, Harper and company have consistently behaved like political amateurs.
Their communications policy has been dreadful, making the government look not only remote and unlikable, but excessively partisan and defensive, as though it has something to hide.
While it has long been clear the party needs to promote women and women's concerns, Harper has done nothing substantive on this front.
And Conservatives have gone out of their way to insult and alienate Ontarians for no obvious reason.
In terms of policy, the party appears to have run out of steam after its moves to address government accountability, pass anti-crime legislation and introduce tax reductions.
Yet, the Telegraph enthuses: "Canadian Tories are a model of how to behave during (an economic) downturn."
And "if the rest of the world had comported itself with similar modesty and prudence, we might not be in this mess."
Sometimes things look better from afar.
For instance, when observed from this side of the pond, Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel and the rest of the bunch look not bad at all.
Barbara Yaffe is a Vancouver Sun columnist. byaffe@png.canwest.com
© The Calgary Herald 2008

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