FROM TO LIBERAL SYNDROME: THE MOST DIFFICULT JOB IN THE COUNTRY

Geoff Norquay

Adviser to three Conservative leaders, Geoff Norquay knows all about the role of opposition leader, and calls it “the most difficult job in the country.” From , to Bob to , the Conservatives suffered from Tory syndrome until cured them of being losers in 1984. But he also detects Liberal syndrome, and writes that it didn’t begin with Stéphane Dion. It goes with the territory of being in opposition — courting the caucus, raising money, running the leader’s office, getting out across the country, putting the right policies in place, all so that the leader can accomplish one thing: winning the next election.

Ancien conseiller de trois chefs conservateurs, Geoff Norquay n’ignore rien du rôle de leader de l’opposition, « le boulot le plus difficile du pays », selon lui. De John Diefenbaker à en passant par Joe Clark, les conservateurs ont longtemps souffert du « syndrome tory » de la défaite, jusqu’à ce que Brian Mulroney les en guérisse en 1984. Mais il existe aussi un « syndrome libéral », note l’auteur, dont l’apparition a précédé l’arrivée de Stéphane Dion. Il germe dans le terreau de l’opposition quand on doit courtiser son caucus, lever des fonds, briguer l’investiture, sillonner le pays et concevoir un train de mesures rassembleuses, le tout pour assurer au chef d’accomplir un seul et unique objectif : remporter la prochaine élection.

I’m the leader and I want discipline. That’s clear. Tough comments indeed. But, actually, Dion has a lot Stéphane Dion, March 27, 2008 of company. At one time or another, exactly those com- ments have been made about every leader of the opposi- hen he made that plaintive call earlier this spring, tion in my lifetime, Liberal and Conservative. They come Stéphane Dion was responding to the latest melt- with the territory. W down of his wing. Once again the dissen- At various times over the past 27 years, I have had the sion that began to smoulder with the loss of the Outremont privilege of working directly for three leaders of the official by-election last September had burst into public flames. opposition, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney and . Dion’s call for discipline was entirely predictable; it’s Those experiences have led me to conclude that leading the the classic response of a leader who has just come under opposition is the most difficult job in the country. friendly fire. And this was just the latest in the episodic cau- For a party going from government to opposition, cus and party rumblings and critiques of his leadership: there’s a lot more involved than simply moving the leader ● “He doesn’t listen to anyone/he listens to the wrong from the third floor of the to the fourth. people.” You’ve just been rejected by several million at ● “He’s indecisive/He acts too quickly.” the polls. Across the country, your foot soldiers are down in ● “We don’t know where the party stands/He’s moving the dumps, and there’s probably a witch hunt going on for the party too much to the left/centre/right.” the geniuses who served up the lunatic strategy that just got ● “Why won’t he release the platform now?” you thrown from office. ● “He’s surrounded by fools and yes-men; when’s he It gets worse. The public service is no longer at your gonna get some adult supervision in there to help beck and call, so you’re on your own as far as policy and the him?” costing of alternatives are concerned. Scores of talented and

POLICY OPTIONS 41 MAY 2008 Geoff Norquay

dedicated people have just lost their At one time or another over the Alliance fighting each other to the jobs, and much of your institutional past 18 months, Stéphane Dion has death in the rest of the country, the memory is leaving with them. And faced criticism for his handling of each Liberals spent a full decade living in an while you are dealing with all of that of these balances. electoral fool’s paradise. It was all just good news, all eyes turn to the leader, To be fair, he’s brought a certain too easy. who must now create the plan that amount of it on himself. Jean Chrétien was able to score sig- will bring you back to office. Judging by the constant churn nificant majorities in three elections that is visible just below the surface, with popular votes in the 38 to 41 per- o be a successful leader of the it’s pretty clear that Dion has yet to cent range. Only when the new T opposition requires the negotia- find his feet as caucus leader, motiva- Conservative Party united its formerly tion of a series of delicate and often tor and consensus builder. Two of his warring factions in 2004 did the elec- toral landscape begin to At various times over the past 27 years, I have had the return to normal. Liberal privilege of working directly for three leaders of the official support dropped to 36.7 opposition, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney and Stephen Harper. percent in that year’s elec- tion, and while Those experiences have led me to conclude that leading the retained government, he opposition is the most difficult job in the country. was reduced to a minority. Since winning elec- conflicting balances: hand-picked candidates have crashed tions had become a walk in the park, it ● Within the caucus, the leader and burned in by-elections, and his was easy for the Liberals to indulge must be a patient but decisive lis- Quebec wing continues to squabble themselves with the politics of leader- tener, capable of building consen- over the spoils of defeat. ship. They could have learned from sus without yielding to the Strategically, he’s been a disaster, the former Progressive Conservative temptation to substitute his or her creating his own personal “Ground- Party how destructive that preoccupa- judgment for that process. hog Days” by repeatedly threatening tion can be. ● For the party, the leader must to defeat the government, and then develop and articulate overarching being forced to back down. While n the fall of 1966, then PC Party strategic political and policy direc- their fruitless search for scandal with I president went on an tions, while making timely tactical traction dominates most Question unprecedented national speaking tour. adjustments in response to events Periods, the very mention of a vote Its purpose was to force Rt. Hon. John and opportunities as they arise. on policy causes the Liberals to scurry Diefenbaker, former prime minister ● In running the leader’s office, he for the Commons exits to prevent an and Leader of the official opposition, or she needs the judgment to pick election for which they are demon- to submit his continued leadership of the right people as closest advis- strably not ready. the party to a confidence vote at a ers, while retaining the distance All that being said, it’s perhaps national convention. and toughness to know when it’s just a bit too easy for Liberals to lay all Over the next 18 years, my for- time for them to move on, even of their party’s problems at the feet of mer party developed what came to when they are close personal the leader. In many ways, their preoc- be known as the Tory syndrome, our friends. cupation with leadership also serves to unfailing and repeated tendency to ● To the public, the leader must be mask a number of bad habits the party form circular firing squads around the chief inspirational communi- has fallen into over the past genera- our leaders. From John Diefenbaker cator, describing a cohesive and tion. One is assuming that seizing and to Robert Stanfield to Joe Clark, comprehensive vision of alterna- retaining government is relatively easy lived in a constant state of tive governance, while nurturing in . leadership turmoil and regicidal and showcasing a capable and It’s really all the fault of Lucien plotting. supportive team. Bouchard and . When After a very public fight that tore the ● And while all those balls are in the they broke up the grand Mulroney party apart, Diefenbaker was ultimately air, the leader is ultimately respon- coalition between soft Quebec nation- pushed into a leadership convention in sible for election preparedness, for alists and western Conservatives in the 1967. He ran to succeed himself, thereby ensuring that the party has the early 1990s, they opened the door to forcing the party to humiliate him while platform, financial resources, can- an era of Liberal domination on the it was electing Robert Stanfield as the didates, organization and strategies national political scene. new leader. The estimable Bob Stanfield to advance a credible alternative in With the Bloc blocking much of then endured nine years of cheap shots the next election campaign. Quebec, and the PCs and Reform- and second-guessing from Diefenbaker,

42 OPTIONS POLITIQUES MAI 2008 From Tory to Liberal syndrome: the most difficult job in the country

The Gazette, Tory syndrome began with the long battles over John Diefenbaker’s leadership and his sucession by Robert Stanfield in 1967, followed by Joe Clark in 1976, until the arrival of Brian Mulroney in 1983. But Geoff Norquay sees Liberal syndrome in the struggles of Stéphane Dion. who remained sitting in the House until tion of Brian Mulroney as leader in were finally killing their leadership his death in 1979. 1983. The Tory syndrome was offi- demons in the summer of 1984, the Following electoral defeats in the cially put to rest on September 4, Liberals were beginning the process of elections of 1968, 1972 and 1974, 1984, when the Mulroney-led PCs making the Tory syndrome theirs. “the best prime minister Canada won the biggest parliamentary major- In June of that year, never had” gave way to Joe Clark in ity in Canadian history. defeated Jean Chrétien to become 1976. The spectacular fumbling of Liberal leader and prime minister. the Clark in hat does this tour of ancient Following the worst electoral show- 1979-80 then began a corrosive three- W history have to do with the ing for Liberals in their history in year struggle over the leadership that Liberals of today? In my view, a fair September 1984, Turner then faced was ultimately resolved with the elec- amount, because just as Conservatives years of leadership insurgencies led

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by Chrétien. Between 1984 and 1988, Should Dion be forced to vacate Historical examples and different Turner struggled through constant the leadership, the two obvious con- models of what the Liberals could be sniping, caucus revolts, a confidence tenders are and Michael doing on policy abound: vote at the Liberals’ 1986 conven- Ignatieff. Both are eminently quali- ● In 1960, thoughtful Liberals such tion, and fierce internal policy battles fied to lead and it would be a stimu- as Tom Kent, and over Meech and the Canada-US Free lating battle, but one is going to win, Allan MacEachen organized the Trade Agreement. The ultimate indig- and the other is going to lose. While Kingston Conference, which nity was a thinly veiled Liberal neither appears to have the “grudge defined a new set of possibilities for the country, and laid When the electoral system moves your leader from 24 out the social security Sussex to , it’s customary to begin the process of architecture that remains a taking stock and renewing not only leadership, but also defining feature of Canada almost 50 years later. policies, organization, funding and people. Here, the ● Upon assuming the Liberals have really been slow off the mark, at least in part leadership of the PCs in because as soon as he was elected leader, Dion decreed that 1983, Brian Mulroney led a his objective was to take down the government as quickly as comprehensive caucus poli- cy process that reached out possible. That’s foreclosed some renewal options the Liberals extensively to key stake- might have been better to pursue. holders, interest groups and third party experts, and put putsch that attempted to replace mentality” that characterized the a modern and relevant face on PC Turner as leader in the middle of the Turner-Chrétien and Chrétien-Martin policy and platform. 1988 federal election. relationships, Liberals should be ● The first Liberal Red Book pre- Turner departed in 1990 and in holding their breath in the hope that pared by Paul Martin and Chavi- the contest to succeed him, Chrétien the leadership genie goes back into va Hosek for the 1993 election was generally seen to be the ideologi- the bottle and stays there once a vic- campaign instantly became the cal heir to , while Paul tor is declared. gold standard for platform pre- Martin assumed the leadership man- The electoral free ride the Liberals sentations. It effectively brand- tle of the Turner wing of the party. As enjoyed between 1993 and 2006 had ed the Liberals as the party of we all know, Chrétien defeated some other long-term impacts that they ideas and provided the policy Martin, but the bitterness of that have been slow to recognize and address. game plan for a decade of Liber- leadership battle only went under- When the electoral system moves al government. ground for a while, periodically bub- your leader from 24 Sussex to ● Following the merger of the PC bling up over the next decade until Stornoway, it’s customary to begin the and Alliance parties, Stephen open warfare broke out over process of taking stock and renewing Harper and Peter MacKay man- Chrétien’s long goodbye and the not only leadership, but also policies, aged a year-long broadly based inevitable Martin succession. organization, funding and people. grassroots and caucus policy Here, the Liberals have really been process leading to a major policy iven the electoral context of slow off the mark, at least in part conference in Montreal in March G the times, all of this self-indul- because as soon as he was elected 2005. It provided the new party gence over leadership was easily sus- leader, Dion decreed that his objective with a comprehensive policy base tainable for the Liberals between was to take down the government as and ended the public uncertainty 1993 and 2004. But once Conserva- quickly as possible. That’s foreclosed about where the party stood on tives were no longer at each other’s some renewal options the Liberals key issues. throats and the Bloc began to wane, might have been better to pursue. not so much. And the Liberals also hese four examples suggest that forgot one hard-learned lesson that n policy, the Liberal response in T there are loads of options for Conservatives had learned from O the current Parliament has been reworking party policy. But the their earlier Tory syndrome years. If almost totally reactive, and to the point is that there are times in the you cannot show the Canadian peo- extent that Dion has advanced new life of every party when taking that ple you can manage your own policy options, they have the feel of step is both essential and urgent. It’s party’s affairs, they are more than being more tactical than deeply con- useful to sit back and consider where likely to take a pass on letting you sidered, more situational than princi- the country has been and where it’s run their country. ples-based. going, which issues need attention,

44 OPTIONS POLITIQUES MAI 2008 From Tory to Liberal syndrome: the most difficult job in the country and whether your traditional policy Star view of the federation is The results are there for all to see. prescriptions are still relevant, or for them to decide, but they might In 2007, the Conservatives’ 159,000 need updating. find it worthwhile at least to ask individual donors contributed $17 Take Liberal positioning on the themselves the question. million to the party, while the Liberals Canadian federation, for example. 35,000 donors made contributions Forty years after he became prime nother key area where the Liberals totalling $4.5 million. In both donors minister, the Canada of Pierre A need to retool is in fundraising. and dollars, that’s a four-to-one advan- Trudeau is long gone. The social pro- Money is the lifeblood of all tage, and it’s huge. grams put in place by the Liberals in political organizations. It pays for That the Liberals took so long to the 1960s have matured, and largely the necessary communications, out- see the reach and power of direct been broadened and strengthened. reach and policy development and mail is one of the modern mysteries Provincial economies are booming, the staff that run the national organ- of Canadian politics. When Jean and provincial governments are ization. And, yes, it pays for superior Chrétien outlawed corporate dona- much more able and sophisticated. election readiness and TV ads tions just before he left office, it was They are more than capable today of between campaigns. not only a stellar blow for the designing and delivering programs, When I became director of democratization of party financing as well as being electorally responsi- research for the PCs in 1981, I found in Canada, but also a devilish poison ble for them, without the direction that one of my regular duties was to pill for his immediate successor. But of a “Father Knows Best” federal sign off on the monthly direct mail while Chrétien may have aimed at government. fundraising letter to party members Martin, he really shot his own party. Into this changed environment and supporters. Being in opposition is no fun, has stepped Stephen Harper to chart a Twenty-seven years ago, direct especially after a 12-year run of unin- new course for the federation. It’s a mail was still in its infancy, and many terrupted rule. Sometimes, as Pierre direction based on open federalism, thought it was a crazy idea. After all, Trudeau and the Liberals found in addressing the federal-provincial fiscal why bother with a bunch of cheques 1980, a shortcut presents itself quickly. imbalance and respecting provincial for $100 when you could score You just wait for the other guy to jurisdictions, while retaining federal $40,000 from a big bank or energy implode, and if he does, government leadership and a strong fiscal presence company? But we persevered, and our falls back into your lap. in the key sectors of health care and donor base slowly grew to provide a More often than not, though, infrastructure. happy financial addition to the corpo- getting back to government from To be sure, there have been some bumps along the Just as Mulroney brought that province to the table at la way, but the Harper Francophonie a generation ago, Harper quickly broke the approach seems to be work- impasse on Quebec’s long-standing desire for participation at ing pretty effectively, espe- cially vis-à-vis Quebec. Just UNESCO. Contrary to frantic Liberal forecasts, the sky did not as Mulroney brought that fall, the federation did not fly apart, and no province has province to the table at la demanded its own seat at the UN. Francophonie a generation ago, Harper quickly broke the impasse rate fundraising that was still the opposition takes several years in the on Quebec’s long-standing desire for order of the day. wilderness, dealing with your leader- participation at UNESCO. Contrary to The Reform Party then came ship and doing the heavy lifting to frantic Liberal forecasts, the sky did along in the late 1980s, founded and rejuvenate policy and party. not fall, the federation did not fly built in church basements and com- So will it be instant gratification, apart, and no province has demanded munity centres across western or the long road back? For the Liberals, its own seat at the UN. Canada, where every meeting ended it’s a high-stakes bet as to which of Perhaps it is no accident that with the passing of the bucket for these scenarios will prevail. support for sovereignty in Quebec individual donations. By the time has dropped 10 points on Harper’s Stephen Harper and Peter MacKay Geoff Norquay, a principal of the watch, and the Bloc Québécois is in put Canadian Conservatives back Earnscliffe Group in , is a for- decline. Meanwhile, the Liberals together in 2004, both predecessor mer adviser to three opposition leaders, appear to be caught in a Trudeau parties brought with them mature Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney and Stephen time warp when it comes to federal- and successful direct mail programs Harper. He was Prime Minister provincial relations. Whether the with significant individual donor Mulroney’s principal adviser on social Liberals continue to adhere to the support. policy. [email protected]

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