What if the Conservatives had a ‘centrist’ leader? – Macleans.ca
much known, most media commentators and members of the Conservative
Party of Canada establishment believe that if only the party had a
leader of more moderate, sensible views like Rona Ambrose or Peter
MacKay in the election campaign just past, it would be governing Canada
today.
In fact, that’s almost certainly not true. A centrist leader like Ambrose or MacKay might well have made matters worse.
Surveys by EKOS Research indicate that, while the pair (especially
Ambrose, the party’s former interim leader) are leading the pack of
aspirants for the Conservative leadership, their views have little
appeal to the party’s largest constituency, comprised of those labelled
ordered or authoritarian populists, which make up more than half the
Conservative base. Further to which, Conservatives should actually
applaud their maligned soon-to-be ex-leader Andrew Scheer for not having
done a bad job over two-and-a-half years of straddling the party’s two
incommensurable wings.