The new leader of the federal Conservative party came from behind to beat out 12 other candidates to take the helm of the party on Saturday. Andrew Scheer squeaked past Maxime Bernier, who had been favoured to win.
The young Saskatchewan MP has his work cut out for him. The bland campaign, which allowed Scheer to become leader on Saturday, will not be enough to carry the freight needed to beat the Trudeau Liberals in the next election.
Dubbed as Stephen Harper with a smile, the personable Scheer was able to scoop up enough support on the final ballot by taking the middle of the road on many issues and being opposed to others like supply management.
Canadians will expect Scheer to declare what he stands for with a more detailed platform. He will also have to rally his disparate troops behind him and that job will be more difficult than edging out contenders in the leadership race.
St. Albert MP Michael Cooper, who backed third-place finisher Erin O’Toole, said caucus is 100 per cent behind the new leader. Cooper is, of course, saying all the right things, and sounds amazingly like his caucus colleagues. He says Sheer brings experience, can unite the party and he’s someone who recognizes the Conservative party is a big tent party.
Perhaps if the Conservatives say “big tent party” enough, it will come true. Scheer has a big job on his hands, and that includes keeping the social right faction of the party in check with the party’s more centrist values. If Scheer can keep the big tent from blowing down, the Conservatives have a legitimate shot at power when the next federal election is contested. Stay the course and wait for Justin Trudeau to self-destruct seems to be the strategy.
Scheer is smart, likeable and able to build consensus. During the leadership race he showed he was not afraid of hard work. He has support from both western and eastern Canada.
On the downside Scheer has little business experience, with most of his career spent as a politician. There are questions about his leadership capacity, his youth and his lack of business experience. But then again those were also criticisms of Justin Trudeau, who didn’t have the experience in politics that Scheer has. Scheer’s socially conservative stance makes some people uneasy.
There are other unknowns. Will Scheer, a former speaker of the house, be tough enough to match the tone and tenor of interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose? Scheer will have to get up to speed pretty quickly, because Sturgeon River-Parkland MP Ambrose will be out of the game in just a couple of months.
Scheer faces a long, uphill battle, but he has two years to prove himself. The leader of this party needs to be someone that all regions – especially the suburbs of our major cities – can get behind. Scheer is a likeable guy, but it will ultimately be his platform and his ability to manage his caucus that determines his chances of success.
