Quote:
Gerry Nicholls' advice to Ignatieff: Fire the ad company and copy Chretien
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has taken a beating from some quarters (not least the National Post) over his recent performance. His poll ratings are down, some Liberals are grumbling, and many Canadians are unimpressed at his effort to force an election. Wanting to help, Full Comment invited five pundits to suggest ways in which Mr. Ignatieff could get the upper hand on Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Conservative blogger Gerry Nicholls offered these tips:
I love to give free political advice just as much as people love to ignore it.
And now in the spirit of non-partisan generosity, I am offering Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff the opportunity to disregard my words of wisdom.
Here in no particular order are five suggestions as to how Mr. Ignatieff can improve his political standing:
1. Drop the "Harper is Scary" Routine
I know demonizing Prime Minister Stephen Harper as some sort of cross between Genghis Khan and Kanye West worked to some degree in the past, but that act is getting stale. Harper has been Prime Minister for nearly four years, meaning Canadians know him pretty well. They know he likes to wear blue sweaters and shakes hands with his kids before school and doesn't know the first thing about Catholic rituals. And here's the thing: such knowledge engenders boredom, not fear. Harper just isn't scary. Also scrap all the talk about Harper's (Insert dramatic music here) "Hidden Agenda." Why waste time attacking imaginary policies when you have plenty of real sins to go after: pork barrelling, patronage, spending binges.
2. Get a new ad company
I realize the "adscam" scandal makes talking about Liberal advertising companies a touchy subject, but political ads are important. And to be blunt, the guys creating your ads couldn't sell a cheeseburger to Michael Moore. For instance, take that TV ad they dreamed up showing you standing in the middle of a forest; that was a complete dud, unless of course, the voting demographic you're targeting includes Woodsy the Owl and Chippy the Chipmunk. Also, get a new slogan. Surely you can do better than "We can do better."
3. Copy Your Predecessor (No, not that one)
Steal a page from the last successful Liberal Prime Minister - Jean Chrétien. Yes, Chrétien was up to his petit gars in scandals, but he also reduced taxes, cut government spending and balanced the budget. Why not follow his lead and offer Canadians a fiscally conservative alternative to the spend-happy, deficit-ridden Tories. Yes, such a policy approach would anger the left-wing segment of your caucus, but let's be honest, what has Bob Rae ever done for you?
4. Invent a Time Machine
If possible find a way to go back in time to circa December 2008 and do whatever you can to convince your Liberal brethren not to sign a deal with the "socialists" and "separatists" to form a Coalition government. That stupid stunt nearly destroyed your party and will haunt you in the next election and beyond. In fact, when Stephane Dion agreed to that ill-fated plan it was the dumbest thing a Liberal leader has done since Mackenzie King sought foreign policy advice from his dead mother.
5. End the Group-Think
You have surrounded yourself with advisors who think political reality is reflected on the CBC news and in the editorial pages of the Toronto Star. Consequently, they believe there is an overwhelming desire in the country to hold an election as fast as possible so that Harper can be driven out of office, and replaced with the "Natural Governing Party." Well here's a news flash: If an election were held today, you'd get killed. To win an election you will have to do more than simply wave the Liberal flag and proclaim, "I'm not Harper." You will actually have to inspire people with a vision. That means coming up with real policies and new ideas.
So that's it, Mr. Ignatieff. Those are my suggestions.
Feel free to ignore any or all of them.
National Post
Gerry Nicholls is an independent political consultant and president of Libertas Post. He was formerly vice president of the National Citizens Coalition
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blog ... t-one.aspx
