| In Belinda Stronach’s coming-out party at the Conservative Party of Canada’s well-scripted leadership debate on the ever-so popular television channel CPAC on February 15th, the former CEO of billion-dollar auto-parts multinational Magna International made no mistakes. But she made no compelling argument that she was the substance behind her campaign material either.
What the coming-out party showed is why she did not show up for the debate hosted on CBC Newsworld's Politics the previous week. There, the CBC’s Don Newman, who has a modicum of talent and experience at bringing out controversial comments, didn’t have his questions vetted by the party and the campaign chairs.
Magna Spice was well advised.
Ralph Klein’s old drinking and political buddy Rod Love – who is the campaign strategist charged with getting the Stronach train back on track or, even to leave the round house – can be seen as the author to this bit of advice.
Stronach also spoke of her lack of political experience being an asset, saying she comes with no political baggage to be stowed away in a coat closet of the corporate board room of Magna.
This great expectation, however, is a "mistruth."
Belinda was the shaddchan who convinced former Tory leader Peter MacKay to walk down the aisle with former Alliance leader Stephen Harper to their eventful union. Behind the scenes helping Stronach were the stalwarts of the Tories, other than the Red Tories.
Since then, Stronach has garnered a blue ribbon cast of strategists, campaigners and advisors. Many are seasoned pros who have worked to elect themselves or others in the recent past. They include former prime minister Brian Mulroney, former Ontatio premiers William Davis and Mike Harris, prominent Liberals such as Brian Tobin, David Peterson, Doug Young, Ed Lumley and Dennis Mills, and former Ontario NDP premier Bob Rae. Not bad for a self-declared political neophyte. Also not bad when you consider all of them are on, or were in the past, the payroll of Stronach’s Magna International.
You must also give Stronach credit for having enticed into her campaign organization so many prominent ex-Tories in the province that rival leadership candidates Tony Clement and Harper thought would be working for them.
Stronach has gained the nickname of the "Valentine of Quebec," even though she can’t communicate with more than 80 per cent of its residents.
In Quebec, among others, she has Fred Loiselle, a former senior organizer for Tom Long, whose 2000 Alliance leadership campaign was submerged when his Quebec team was caught creating several thousand false memberships in the Gaspé. Dany Renauld, Stronach's Quebec co-chair, says most of the campaign's Quebec executives, including him, are volunteers. Renauld, who worked for MacKay in last spring's Tory leadership race, says those involved in Stronach's campaign include former Tory vice-presidents José Nicolas, Joanne Senecal and Bernard Coté. Each has considerable experience working in previous campaigns.
Tory Senator Pierre-Claude Nolin, a loyalist of Mulroney, heads the whole team. That is why bilingualism is not playing as much a role in the campaign as it has in the past for anyone trying to be considered a national leader of a Canadian political party.
Also in Ontario, Londoner Ken Kalopsis, a key player in the former Reform party and a national co-president of the Alliance party, has landed a key role as co-chair of Stronach's Ontario campaign to become leader of the Conservative party of Canada. His co-chair is Toronto lawyer Kevin Gallagher, a former organizer with the Progressive Conservative party.
Half a continent away in northern Alberta, Scott Thorkelson said he's been impressed by Stronach's drawing power.
He's leaning toward voting for Stronach in his Edmonton riding and says there's a clear – although cordial – split between Alliance and Tory leadership preferences.
Stronach’s campaigners have also spared no expense in dealing with the media. They have engaged Barry McLoughlin – an expert in media training – to provide a crash course on dealing with the media and to get her through candidate debates.
In addition, it has been reported that Stronach has purchased the services of a well-known voter-contact service that worked on the successful leadership campaign of former Ontario premier Ernie Eves. Mark Entwhistle, another Stronach insider, soothed the savage media corps during the controversy-plagued government of Brian Mulroney in the 1980s. Fielding reporters' queries is Stacey Gray, the former press secretary to former prime minister Joe Clark, while former PC caucus communications director Andrew Skaling is running the media show in Ottawa.
Well out of camera range at Stronach’s campaign launch could be found Mike Harris's former chief of staff, Guy Giorno, Toronto Tory organizers Jaime Watt, Kevin Gallagher and Deb Hutton, a key Harris policy adviser; as well as Ian Todd, formerly chief of staff to Preston Manning and Stockwell Day.
What does all this high-profile help mean for Stronach? Well, not much. Here’s a prediction: If Stronach wins the leadership, the marriage of the Canadian Alliance and Tories will not survive – same-sex marriage, large urban issues and other centrist matters will be the wedge.
If Harper wins, the party will die at the Manitoba-Ontario border, the talk of firewalls, comments about Quebec and the Maritimes, and the fact he and his army are far too right wing for Ontario and Quebec will be reasons given on the divorce papers.
Despite the fact that Harper missed the far-reaching effect of the marriage – arranged, not incidentally, by Stronach – he has also missed the fact that the new entity will not survive the results, no matter who wins.
Don’t forget this is a party that has no policies, no real leader for the past two years, no new ideas for the future and no money.
This will be the proof that, in politics, one plus one does not equal two.
Friends in high places.
Heres’a look at some of the directors of Stronach’s Magna International and its subsidiaries, which include Intier Automotive Inc., Magna Entertainment Corp., Decoma International Inc., Tesma International Corp. and MI Developments Inc.
Mike Harris, former Ontario premier
David Peterson, former Ontario premier
Ed Lumley, former federal industry minister
Doug Young, former federal cabinet minister
Brian Tobin, former Newfoundland premier and federal cabinet minister
Neil Davis, son of former Ontario premier William Davis
Flavio Cotti, former president of Switzerland
Rudolf Streicher, former Austrian minister of economic affairs and transportation |
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