Opposition Parties Off Base

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Quebec Premier, Francois Legault with Justin Trudeau, Canada's PM.
Photo credit: online pic.

Opposition parties in Canada peddling a jump shot election this year, because of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the WE affair, are dancing in the dark.

Voters are like COVID-19. They are airborne. You don’t know how and where you will catch it. Opposition parties are under the assumption that voters are so mad at the Prime Minister, they will delete him and his Liberal Party, should there be an election. 

Nobody knows what is on a voter’s mind. Not all voters understand polls. Not all voters trust polls. Not all voters vote based on online opinion, social media and not all voters are ready to divorce their parties because of headlines generated by the WE probe.

Opposition parties should remember that certain things cannot be measured in percentages. Some voters vote on the gut feel.

1. As a Canadian, I’ll be proud to say he is my Prime Minister.

2. As a Canadian, I feel that he’s better than the lot. He’s a better evil.

3. As a Canadian, he’s the name I know.

4. As a Canadian, I can trust him.

5. As a Canadian, I think he’s doing a good job.

The last point is a good example of how ordinary voters think. Take COVID-19. WE Charity not withstanding, Justin Trudeau is perceived to be doing a good job with managing the pandemic, but he had the support of the opposition, because he’s in a minority government. Ordinary voters tend to ignore that. To them, he is the face of Canada.

When parliament returns in September, Canadian opposition parties must remember that the voter’s mind is pitch black like a dam. An ocean is much better. It has snatches of light and color. That’s why divers enjoy the paddling.

Opposition parties cannot and must not rely on the WE Charity affair to sink the Liberal Party. They must look under their beds to find missing socks that made them lose the 2015 election.

Those missing socks led to the Liberal Party winning the October 2019 election, despite major issues that dogged Justin Trudeau’s majority government. Opposition parties should also realize that it’s a new day, and campaign strategies that are 100 years old, do not work in the year 2020.

Introspection before election mania. That is what they should do.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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