New Democrat Leader Thomas Mulcair is the most effective Parliamentarian working in Ottawa today. The opposition leader is ferociously intelligent, quick on his feet and naturally authoritative. In small groups, he can be gregarious and charming. He works hard. Add healthy ambition to the list and you have a package that should be yielding his party big political dividends.
Yet it hasn’t.
The problem: Only other MPs, staffers and journalists who cover the Commons watch question period, and thus are aware of Mulcair’s prowess. For most Canadians, it may as well not exist. The evening TV news will feature short clips of the key players. More often than not, these clips will showcase a Liberal rather than a New Democrat, because seconds are precious and news editors watch polls, too. If the Liberals are the government-in-waiting, as every poll and Conservative attack ads suggest, then their opposition view is the one that counts. It becomes a self-fulfilling phenomenon.
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Michael Den Tandt: Tom Mulcair is Ottawa’s best Parliamentarian — and yet he’s the only party leader likely to lose his job | National Post
Yet it hasn’t.
The problem: Only other MPs, staffers and journalists who cover the Commons watch question period, and thus are aware of Mulcair’s prowess. For most Canadians, it may as well not exist. The evening TV news will feature short clips of the key players. More often than not, these clips will showcase a Liberal rather than a New Democrat, because seconds are precious and news editors watch polls, too. If the Liberals are the government-in-waiting, as every poll and Conservative attack ads suggest, then their opposition view is the one that counts. It becomes a self-fulfilling phenomenon.
more
Michael Den Tandt: Tom Mulcair is Ottawa’s best Parliamentarian — and yet he’s the only party leader likely to lose his job | National Post