(Ottawa) Former Governor of the Bank of Canada Mark Carney did everything except explicitly confirm on the airwaves of an American network Monday evening that he will run for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Published at 5:00 a.m.
The vehicle chosen to do so – a satirical show, The Daily Showhosted by Jon Stewart – surprised many. Mr. Carney was in New York on Monday as backroom games multiply in the Liberal ranks across the country, and the leadership race gets underway.
During the nearly 20-minute interview, Mark Carney discussed his vast experience in the field of economics and finance, his unfavorable opinion of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and the very little appetite Canadians have for that their country becomes the 51e American state, and the importance of fighting climate change without imposing a heavy financial burden on Canadians who are already struggling to make ends meet.
He did it by bantering, by cleverly exchanging with host Jon Stewart, by asserting that he is a good liberal, but that he has nothing to do with the record of Justin Trudeau’s government.
On several occasions, he received applause from the people in the studio.
Generally, reviews of his performance have been positive. Many noted that we did not know that this great banker had such a sharp sense of humor and a sense of repartee capable of seducing an audience. Some have argued that comparisons between him and former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, who led the party to the worst defeat in its history, do not hold water.
That said, how many liberal supporters saw this first major media outing from Mark Carney since Justin Trudeau’s resignation? How many of them were convinced to support him during the leadership race? A great mystery, even for the most cunning liberal strategists.
Certainly, many English-speaking Canadians love this comedy show. But if he wants to win the leadership race which will take place within a very tight deadline – the next leader of the PLC will be known on March 9 – and if he subsequently wants to allow the Liberals to save the furniture during the electoral campaign which will follow quickly, Mark Carney will also have to find a way to communicate more directly with voters in the country, and in particular voters in Quebec.
May the aspirant to the liberal throne demonstrate his sense of humor to Daily Show risks leaving the voters of Jonquière, Trois-Rivières or Charlevoix indifferent.
However, some of them will have their say in the race for the leadership of the PLC. Most importantly, they will have the right to vote in the next federal election.
If Mark Carney wants to quickly prove to Quebecers that he has a good sense of humor, there is no shortage of platforms more familiar to people here. As Infomanfor example, of which 2.4 million viewers saw the year in review on December 31 on -.
Behind the scenes, influential liberals have had fun in recent weeks describing the former governor in unflattering terms: “the ghost Mark Carney.” These Liberals are irritated to see him show up presenting himself as a savior of the party when he has repeatedly refused invitations from Justin Trudeau to join the Cabinet over the years.
The last attempt was also the one that led to his downfall. By offering Mark Carney the position of Minister of Finance on a silver platter in early December, the Prime Minister caused the resignation of Chrystia Freeland on the day she was to present the economic statement. The political crisis that erupted forced Justin Trudeau to announce his resignation on January 6.
For a week, The Press and other French-speaking media are going out of their way to contact Mark Carney’s team in order to obtain information on his intentions and his organization in the country. Calls and messages went unanswered.
Meanwhile, the English-speaking press, notably the daily The Globe and Mail and the CBC network, were exposed daily to the actions and actions of the former governor of the Bank of Canada.
Double standards? Early Tuesday afternoon, a newly hired communications manager from the Carney team finally responded to messages from The Press. This manager apologized, pleading the lack of staff for an organization which is taking shape. The reduced numbers, however, had time to communicate with the English-speaking press.
Over the past 75 years, the Liberal Party of Canada was able to gain power largely because it had a leader from Quebec at its head and had significant bases in La Belle Province. Louis Saint-Laurent, Pierre Trudeau, Jean Chrétien and Justin Trudeau led their troops to victory more than once due to these factors.
“When you know Quebec and its regions, you can conquer the rest of the country. But the opposite is not true,” a liberal source recently pointed out. Something to think about, a few days before the official opening of the leadership race.
