JANUARY 21, 2021 – Derek Sloan was finally kicked out of the Conservative caucus today. Whether he was guilty or not of knowingly accepting a donation from Fromm one can argue from now to eternity. But, no one should be surprised he was kicked out; it was long overdue. His previous transgressions were widely known.
For a party to win in modern day politics, it has to be united behind one leader with one plan.
This requires discipline.
You can’t have members of your caucus out there on their own doing their own thing. Messaging has to be tightly controlled especially with today’s widespread use of social media. Instant news stories will drive issue management teams crazy.
Thinking back, after O’Toole’s victory, one had to wonder if he or his finance critic was the leader of the party. Whose name garnered the headlines day after day. For O’Toole to become PM this cannot happen.
To be blunt, the leader takes precedence. Others speak when he wants them to as part of a coordinated plan and communication strategy.
It was team play by both former Canadian Alliance and former Progressive Conservative MPs working together that made Harper Prime Minister. It will be teamwork by ALL MEMBERS of the present Conservative caucus that will make O’Toole the next Prime Minister.
The leader has to be focused and yes ruthless at times in imposing discipline on his caucus. If he doesn’t have the stomach for it, then he needs to find someone to be his hatchet man. One way or another the caucus has to realize that each MP is but one player on the team, they are never the only game in town as much as their ego might want them to think so.
KEITH_BEARDSLEY
Keith is a former Conservative political staffer with over 50 years of active involvement in Canadian politics. During that time, he has held quite a few party positions as well as political staff positions. Most recently, Keith was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Issues Management with Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper (2003-2008). Prior to that he worked as an advisor in the Leader’s Office for Peter Mackay, Joe Clark and Jean Charest. Keith also served as the Chief of Staff to the minister in three Federal departments during Brian Mulroney’s government (1984-89). Additional political experience came as the staff person in charge of Question Period from 1997-2008 where he served in both the Opposition and Government roles. Keith is also known for having created one of the most effective political rapid response teams in Canadian politics. He also has municipal experience and he was a city councilor in a suburb of Montreal. Known for his bluntness and to the point comments, this blog is also known for its fairness and respectful treatment of politicians from all parties. A well-known political pundit, Keith has appeared many times on Canadian political panels and he has been interviewed by major Canadian networks including CTV, CBC, Global. He has also given presentations/speeches in various parts of Canada and the USA.