[LINK] On the lack of optimism of Michael Den Tandt for Thomas Mulcair

[rfmcdonald]

The National Post's Michael Den Tandt is not hopeful for Thomas Mulcair's prospects. The declining importance of Question Period is parliament is cited as one key reason for this.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s House of Commons’ style is stolid, conventional and cautious — in a word, dull. He stands, buttons the jacket, faces and addresses the Speaker, rarely modulating his tone, rarely raising his voice. He makes his point and sits. The jacket is unbuttoned once again. Mission accomplished.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is more naturally theatrical — and clearly trying to curb that habit. His approach during question period is simply to say as little as he can get away with, while avoiding making any mistakes. He’ll refer to his notes, make the points he must make, then happily hand off to his caucus mates at the earliest decent opportunity. He’s not that unlike Harper in this regard.

But Mulcair, in marked contrast, is never more in his element than when he stands to pose his first barbed question of the day. In this role, his evolution has been remarkable. Early on, he ditched speaking notes — except for the longest addresses. In 2013, he began glaring directly across the aisle at the prime minister, impaling him with his gaze. Always, the opposition leader’s body language says: “I do not believe a word you say. I own you.” It is an ability that should be devastating.

The problem: Only other MPs, staffers and journalists who cover the Commons watch question period, and thus are aware of Mulcair’s prowess. For most Canadians, it may as well not exist. The evening TV news will feature short clips of the key players. More often than not, these clips will showcase a Liberal rather than a New Democrat, because seconds are precious and news editors watch polls, too. If the Liberals are the government-in-waiting, as every poll and Conservative attack ads suggest, then their opposition view is the one that counts. It becomes a self-fulfilling phenomenon.

None of that would matter as much as it does, if Mulcair had aggressively taken his show on the road in Ontario and British Columbia, in an effort to raise his profile among the people he needs most — beyond Quebec — in order to form a national government. But for reasons that defy easy explanation, he hasn’t done this. Instead, from the very beginning of his tenure as leader in March 2012, Mulcair has taken positions antithetical to the views of the millions of English-Canadian swing voters who handed the country to Harper in 2006, 2008 and 2011.