One of the things the Conservatives are campaigning on is strong leadership, a firm hold on the wheel of the ship of state. Under Stephen Harper, the narrative goes, Canada has retaken a place of prominence on the world stage and has successfully withstood global economic chaos. And the reason is Stephen Harper’s leadership. The choice in this election, say the Tories, is between trusting Harper with a majority government (stable, strong leadership) or making Michael Ignatieff prime minister of a weird hybrid government/coalition/arrangement (just all kinds of bad).
OK. So that’s the narrative. But it won’t win if the Tories don’t restrain their campaign thugs and stop hurling teenaged girls out of events for failing a Partisan Purity Test. The incident in question, which took place in London, Ont. and was reported by the local media, is extremely disturbing. Not only because it shows just how controlling the Conservative party tries to be, but because it reflects poorly on the man who leads (and will likely lead again) our country.
.During a stop last Sunday in London, a 19-year-old political science student at the nearby University of Western Ontario, Awish Aslam, joined a Conservative rally where the Prime Minister was to speak. She registered online (as did a friend who accompanied her) and upon arrival, signed in and went inside. After 30 minutes or so inside the event, both women were approached by a man who asked them to follow him. He took their name tags, tore them up and escorted them out of the event. His explanation, according to Aslam: “[He told us,] ‘We know you guys have ties to the Liberal party through Facebook.’ He said . . . ‘You are no longer welcome here.’”
The ties to the Liberal party? Michael Ignatieff had already made a stop in London, and Aslam had attended that rally, too. At the event, she had her photo taken with the Liberal leader, and posted it on Facebook. According to Aslam, she intended to visit every party’s rally. This is the first election in which she is eligible to vote, and clearly, she has an interest in politics. Exposing herself to a wide variety of views and opinions is entirely logical, and something we need to encourage more young voters to do — make informed political choices, get involved in the process, and value the right to vote in its proper context as the civic duty of a knowledgeable citizen. Aslam was entirely within her right as a citizen to meet with Mr. Ignatieff, and then Mr. Harper. It is unconscionable that anyone on the Harper campaign team felt otherwise.
.Are people with “ties” to the Liberal party to be treated like the enemy and expelled from events? Obviously, the Prime Minister needs security. But it’s supposed to be security against threats to his life, not security against ever having to be near someone who took a photo with a politician from a different party. Unless, of course, it’s Conservative policy that anyone who has been in direct proximity to Ignatieff is a national security risk.
That two young women would be taken aside by a man who felt comfortable removing name tags, is also troubling. The identity of this individual should be determined. Some reports suggest it was an RCMP officer assigned to the Prime Minister’s security detail. If so, why is the RCMP devoting resources to protecting the Prime Minister from young, undecided female voters? If not an RCMP officer, why someone would feel empowered to physically remove the name tags and throw the young women out of the event also needs explanation, and immediate correction.
PMO spokesman Dimitri Soudas has already apologized for the incident, but an apology isn’t good enough. There must be an explanation of why visitors to Conservative events are being screened for any ties to the Liberals and expelled from events, without any other cause, if such ties are found. When questioned about the incident, the Prime Minister brushed off the issue, saying that his staff run the events and that more people are coming to his events than the others combined. That’s irrelevant. It’s not about comparing headcounts, it’s about treating those citizens who show up at your events with respect. If that isn’t happening, Prime Minister, you need to check with your staff. You can’t claim to be a strong, stable leader while blaming your campaign staff for dumb mistakes at the same time. Where does the buck stop?
This incident, combined with the press corps’ frustration with the Prime Minister’s refusal to answer more than five questions per stop, threatens to undermine the strong leadership narrative the Conservatives are banking on to deliver on polling day. It’s absurd to suggest that the same man who needs protection from reporters and politically curious young women is fit to handle further economic crises, wars in Libya and Afghanistan and the ever-present risk of natural disaster, major accident or terrorist attack on Canadian soil. If you want to sell the Prime Minister’s strong leadership, avoiding unforced errors like these is a good place to start.
