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Conservatives ready for election - Page 2

© David Russell

His western roots are also at the root of his perception problem. Since the party's inception, eastern Canada has generally regarded the Reform/Alliance as a western protest party whose raison d'etre - and at least Harper speaks French - was to complain about politics in the east. No matter how much the Alliance tried to promote an agenda more focused on business and fiscal issues, Ontarians and Quebecois continued to view the party as the hillbillies from the prairies. Harper's leadership victory did include finishing first among the candidates in Ontario, a sign his supporters say indicate even Ontario is ready for change. Given that the two other contenders hailed from the industrial province, they say, show that Harper's hometown is no longer an issue for Ontarians.

But it is still important to remember that Ontarians who voted for Harper were all members of the new Conservative Party, a group that is but a small fraction of the total Ontario voters' list. Ontarians too only recently turfed their own Conservative government -- albeit a so-called Progressive one -- after two terms in office characterized by acrimony, constant labor disruptions and a budget deficit. It may be difficult to convince the province's electorate to swing to back to the right on the national stage. Federally, Ontarians have always been friendly with the Liberals.

Harper's greatest strengths ought to be in his understanding and development of political and financial policy. As a Progressive Conservative advisor during the Mulroney years and as member and leader in the Alliance, Harper has always shone best as the background boy, planning direction and understanding government initiatives down to their core.

But policy is a hard sell with Canadians, who traditionally have gotten so used to the politics of patronage - which party is promising the most pre-voting valuables to my neighborhood - that substantive policy debate is rarely seen, much less appreciated by the public at large.

Harper will have a lot of work in front of him to develop a public persona appreciated by a mass electorate, while remaining substantively conservative enough to appeal to his western, primarily former Alliance base.

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