Courtesy CPAC
A Mount Allison University politics professor believes Pierre Poilievre has been very effective at leveraging the communications tools of the next generation.
Wayne Hunt says the new Conservative leader will have to unite the party after a sometimes bitter leadership campaign.
“If we go on past practice, you always first try to bring as many people into the tent as you can.”
Hunt thinks Poilievre will have to be careful about going too mainstream since his predecessor Erin O’Toole tried to do it and it didn’t work.
He notes how some of his rhetoric during the leadership campaign was considered reckless.
“If you’re looking to appeal to an emerging generation, you’re not appealing to the experts. You’re trying to say to these people that the rules of the game have been have been skewed against you, why not try me, why not try what I have to offer.”
Hunt feels taking this approach may have been what is a called a ‘trial balloon’ to see how well it worked.
In his victory speech on Saturday, Hunt says we saw a different side to Poilievre by getting to know his wife, an immigrant from Venezuela, and about how he was given up for adoption by his unwed mother and raised by two teachers.
Hunt adds this was very effective way to introduce him as the new leader.
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