LETTER

Leadership campaigning

 

In response to your editorials on the leadership of the Conservatives and NDP, I would add that the Conservatives have a more difficult road since they have in essence two elections, not one, to fight.  The first is to win the party nomination and that means appealing to already-registered party members who are well right of centre in their political agendas. Then they have the national battle, appealing to all Canadians, who are much more progressive-centrist in their thinking. Which was your editorialist’s point, that in the final vote, the Conservatives must move to the centre to pick up any votes at all – they “own” the Right, you rightly point out.

The NDP has an easier go of it since they have only one real possibility, Mulcair himself. But watch the Conservatives fight it out on the right, and then position themselves in the centre as best they can. assuming the Trump model has no traction.

Dan Hall, PhD
Aylmer